Nottinghamshire swimmer Ollie Hynd won gold in the men’s S8 400m freestyle – and broke a world record on the way.
Hynd, 21, dominated in Rio to break the record that had stood since 2008 in a time of 4:21.89.
It comes after he won silver in the same event at the London 2012 Paralympics having hoped for gold.
“Its amazing. I don’t think a day’s gone by that I haven’t thought about London and what went wrong,” he told the BBC.
“I’ve tried to right those wrongs tonight. With a world record I’ve got to be happy with that – it means everything.”
A golden smile… A big win and a world record in the pool for @olliehyndgb. #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/3TrmfDpGOi
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) 8 September 2016
Hynd’s victory took was part of a stunning day one of the games for Team GB after Dame Sarah Storey became the country’s most successful female Paralympian by winning her 12th gold medal.
The 38-year-old Para-cyclist caught compatriot Crystal Lane, who took silver, after only 1,375 metres of the C5 3000m individual pursuit final.
Steve Bate – with pilot Adam Duggleby – and Megan Giglia won golds in cycling, while swimmer Bethany Firth also won gold.
GB have won five golds and 11 medals in total.
Hynd is from Kirkby-in-Ashfield and trains with the Nova Centurion squad in Mansfield.
