Tanni’s tally equalled by “big-hearted” Roberts

By Paul Carter

Welsh swimmer David Roberts has equalled Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson’s total of 11 Paralympic gold medals by winning the S7 50m freestyle, his 16th Paralympic medal in total.

The 28-year-old broke his own Paralympic record for the second time in the Games, touching home in 27.95 to secure his fourth Beijing gold.

“That’s the one I came here for. Winning that one puts me equal with Tanni Grey-Thompson and to be equal with her is unbelievable. It’s something I didn’t believe would ever happen,” he said.

“It’s nice to have won. At the end of the day, I am a small town bloke from a small valley, but I’ve got a big heart. It’s great to be able to do something like that.”

It was an evening that demonstrated Great Britain’s mix of experience and youth, as Roberts’s performance followed a second gold medal for the team’s newest star, 13-year-old Eleanor Simmonds.

Britain’s youngest-ever individual gold medallist smashed her own world record by a stunning seven seconds as she took gold in the S6 400m freestyle in a time of 5:41.34, ahead of Dutch veteran Mirjam de Koning-Peper.

“I wanted to break that record but I didn’t think I would break it by seven seconds,” said Simmonds.

“I didn’t know I could go that fast. I just went in there to do a PB.”

The British team have now exceeded their pre-games target of 41 gold medals.