Record Breaking Win For Ellie Simmonds

Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds added the 400m freestyle world title to her honours on the opening day of the IPC World Championships in Eindhoven.

Simmonds improved her own S6 world record by almost four seconds with a new time of five minutes 27.64 seconds.

“I’ve been training hard but to come here and break a record by four seconds is really good and I’m delighted,” she told BBC Sport afterwards.

“I just wanted to go out as hard as I could and I did that.”

Natalie Jones finished third behind Simmonds in 5:55.94 to help the Great Britain team to a total of 10 medals on the first day of the six-day event.

The 11-time Paralympic champion Dave Roberts of Wales suffered a surprise defeat in his 400m freestyle event, finishing second to Croatia’s Mihovil Spanja.

Spanja took control of the race and Roberts was unable to chase him down with the Croatian also beating the Welshman’s old world record clocking a time of 4:47.39 with Roberts finishing in 4:48.11 and Jonathan Fox in third

Roberts, who has had some injury problems over the past 12 months, was left disappointed by his performance, despite recording a personal best in his S7 category.

“I let Spanja get away and it was a schoolboy error. I’m frustrated because I know I’m better than that,” he said.

“I lost control of the race and as soon as you do that it is hard to get it back. It was tactically naive and to come second hurts but you live and learn.”

There were also silvers for Matt Whorwood in his S6 400m freestyle and Fran Williamson in her 50m freestyle.

Thomas Young (S8 100m backstroke and SM8 individual medley), Stephanie Millward (S9 100m butterfly) and Jim Anderson (S2 50m freestyle) all claimed bronzes.