Yorkshire Times A Voice of the Free Press |
I have so many great friends in para swimming and it kind of sucks when you’re racing so many events because I don’t get to watch so much. It’s really nice seeing each other in the food hall and being like ‘oh my gosh, good job, you did so good’. It’s just a really nice atmosphere and I feel like I’m crying a lot this week. I just keep seeing people and I’m really proud of them. I just can’t stop crying, but good tears.
I’m a little bit upset that I didn’t medal but I can’t be mad at that swim at all. I came here to do the 100m free just as a bonus event because my main event is 100m fly in two days’ time. I put a lot of pressure on myself between the heats this morning and the finals but I managed to calm myself down and I gave everything I could. I couldn’t give any more.
I’m so happy. I was racing the guy next to me and that motivated me to get a better time. I’ve just been told, and I’ve really taken this in, just to enjoy it. LA is going to be my main one and I can’t wait for that one. But this has been a great experience and I’ve learned so many new things about racing and performing in front of this kind of crowd.
I still can’t believe it, especially on the first throw. I was expecting about 14m on the first throw, just a simple throw and then I hit the world record and I just wanted to jump up and down and celebrate right then and then I remembered I have five more throws after that and couldn’t do it yet.
I’ve been going for this since Rio. Ever since a little girl, I didn’t expect with my limb disability to do an event like this. To be able to go on the world stage, it’s a crazy experience and it’s something I’m so proud I’ve been able to do and it’s just amazing.