Alice Tai Triumphs with Second Gold at Paris Paralympics

Alice Tai secured her second gold at the Paris Paralympics in the S8 50m freestyle, following her earlier 400m silver for Britain. Tai a Paralympic and world champion completed the race in 29.91 seconds, edging out Brazil’s Cecilia Kethlen Jeronimo de Araujo by 0.40 seconds. Tai, who had her leg amputated below the knee in 2022 expressed surprise at her sub-30 time.

She found relearning how to swim post-amputation particularly challenging in shorter races like the 50m. Meanwhile, Becky Redfern claimed her first Paralympic gold in the SB13 100m breaststroke having finished second in the event at the previous two Games. Redfern a two-time world champion, finished in 1:16.02, ahead of Americans Olivia Chambers and Colleen Young.

Balancing training with motherhood and her studies to become a primary school teacher, Redfern expressed pride in her achievement dedicating the win to her four-year-old son, Patrick. In another success for Team GB, 13-year-old Iona Winnifrith won silver in the SB7 100m breaststroke, making her Britain’s youngest swimming medallist at the Paralympics since 2016.

Winnifrith set a personal best of 1:29.69, finishing behind world record-breaking Neutral Paralympic Athlete Mariia Pavlova. Although she had hoped for gold, Winnifrith was thrilled with her performance, crediting her idol, Ellie Simmonds as a significant influence on her career.

These achievements mark a strong showing for Britain’s Paralympic swimmers in Paris with Alice Tai, Becky Redfern and Iona Winnifrith each delivering standout performances.