West star wins Gold in world record

PLYMOUTH swimmer Reece Dunn has claimed gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with a new world record in the men’s 200m freestyle S14,

Having won silver on Wednesday in the men’s 100m butterfly S14 final, the 25-year-old added to his tally and took a gold in yesterday final in the event which he is the world record holder for.

Dunn had qualified second fastest, but in the final, he smashed his own world record with a time of 1:52:40.

Gabriel Bandiera, who beat Dunn in the men’s 100m butterfly S14 final, also broke the old world record but had to settle for silver, while Viacheslav Emiliantsev took the bronze medal.

“I’m ecstatic.”, Dunn said. “I felt immense disappointment on Wednesday, it was a tough, hard thing to take. This is the one thing, the one event I’ve been training for the past 12 weeks.

“It was a great swim, a solid swim given my injuries. I’ve had a back injury. I’ve not put much effort into the fly, a silver medal was great. I could have done a bit better but after tonight, the feeling’s incredible.

“It was the target. I knew it had to be fast, but the tactics, the first three lengths have to be strong and just hang on.”

Dunn, who was diagnosed with autism as a teenager, only made his international bow in 2019 and won three golds and a silver at that year’s World Championships.

He now has a second Paralympic medal to his name, and still has chances for more in the Men’s 100m Backstroke - S14, and Men’s 200m Individual Medley - SM14 in Tokyo.

The 25-year-old, who used to train part-time and work for his dad’s carpet fitting company, is now one of the fastest para swimmers in the world.

He had been swimming since the age of nine but it wasn’t until his late teens that his coach suggested he try competing in para swimming.