IRELAND’S NICOLE TURNER produced a personal best when it mattered most to win Paralympic silver in the final of the S6 50m butterfly.
The Portarlington teen swam a superb time of 36.30 seconds to deliver Ireland’s second medal of these games in the pool.
China’s Yuyan Jiang — who set a new world record of 34.56 in Monday morning’s heats — won gold with another exceptional time of 34.69.
But 19-year-old Turner chased her home as the next best in a stacked final, with just over a second separating second place from sixth.
Nicole Turner wins silver medal in the 50m butterfly (S6)! It's Ireland's fourth medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. #rtesport #paralympics #paraswimming https://t.co/fWFiuv09nB pic.twitter.com/jkm2aI8HSt
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 30, 2021
“To be honest, it hasn’t sunk in at all,” she told RTÉ’s Darren Frehill moments after the final.
“Coming in to Tokyo, looking back on Rio being so close to that bronze medal, the aim after Rio was just to get on the podium in Tokyo, but I never in a million years thought I’d be silver. I always thought I’d be in a fight for bronze.”
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