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Swimming
An intense day of swimming started with the qualifying heats. Team UK were out in full force, smashing a lot of personal bests and targets resulting in 27 qualifying places in the finals in the afternoon.
Swimming captain, Sally Renard sailed straight through to the finals of all 4 of her races, walking away with a silver and Team UK captain Rachel Williamson earned herself 3 golds and a silver, joining the total of 14 medals for the United Kingdom. Ian Fisher smashed 2 seconds of his personal best along with 29 other PBs for the day.
Sally said: “I’m so proud of everybody today, they have done amazing. The number of personal bests from people getting in the water and swimming, everyone's coming out of here smiling today. The one thing I wanted when I was told I was captain was to make sure people had smiles on their faces. To get in the water, and even if you’re not enjoying it as much, they’ve got a smile on their face at the end of the day.”
Swimming coach Emily was on hand helping the team achieve their goals: "I'm really proud of the team today. The results on paper of 14 medals and over 30 personal bests are incredible. A high that was just as good as the journey that we have been on as a team - personal and team goals were achieved. We arrived as a team, swam as a team and celebrated as a team. I'm a proud (and very emotional) coach."
It’s no surprise the sound of the UK supports filled the room to cheer along the swimmers to the sound of LET’S GO UK, LET’S GO!
Wheelchair Rugby
It was a smashing day in the main stadium for the Team UK Wheelchair Rugby Team.
Their first contenders were the USA, where there was a close fought battle with the competitors from across the pond, but despite this, it finished up 24-21 to Team UK.
Mid morning it was time to face Canada and Team UK cruised to victory with a 21-5 win.
In their third match against the Italians, there was incredible sportsmanship on the pitch with cheers for all the goals and great camaraderie. Team UK won 20-4 with the highlight being the group hug at the end between both teams.
After lunch it was time for France where once again Team UK remained strong winning 23-7. The French side showed true Invictus spirit by celebrating the end of the match with what appeared to be a floor conga with some crowd suffering mixed in.
And in the fifth and final match, UK saw their counterparts from down under attempt to break their winning streak and despite a strong start, Team UK continued to smash it and win by 18-8 points resulting in 5 wins!
Team UK Wheel Chair Rugby Coach Rosie Williams said:
“I feel the team have come together in a way that is really special and also focuses on things way beyond a result. These moments are far greater than winning anything, they're about showing their friends and family what they've been committing to for the last few years, proving to themselves that hard work can mean accomplishments and that can mean the simple things like cheering a teammate on and supporting all the competitors.”
Team UK face the semi-finals tomorrow and we’re in for a great showdown whatever happens.
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