Chippenham swimmer Stephanie Millward added a bronze and a silver medal to her growing medal tally at the BT Paralympic World Cup – but is adamant she will grab gold at the European Championships in Iceland.
The 27-year-old picked up 50m freestyle silver, touching home in 29.63 seconds behind fellow Brit Louise Watkin.
She returned to the pool to grab 100m freestyle bronze behind Watkin and ten-time Paralympic gold medalist Natalie Du Toit.
That completed a busy day for Millward, who set a new European record of 1:03.10 minutes at the International Open – also at the Manchester Aquatics Centre – in the 100m freestyle.
And Millward, who suffered Paralympic heartache in Beijing as she finished fourth in the 100m backstroke, is adamant she will not miss out on a European Championships medal in October.
“I can really go to the Euros full of confidence, especially as I set a new European record in my best event,” she said “There’s plenty of competition and I know I’ll have to perform to my very best but that can really spur you on.
“I’m definitely on good form at the moment because I generally don’t swim 50m freestyle.
“My training’s been pretty good except my gran has not been very well. Other than that, I’ve done far more training this year than I have ever done in my life so hopefully it will show towards the end of the year and I’ll hopefully top the podium.”
Millward was part of a British 1-2-3 in the 50m freestyle as Lauren Steadman completed the podium, and only du Toit was able to prevent a British 1-2 in the 100m.
And Millward revealed the friendly rivalry within the British squad acts as the perfect motivation to rule the roost once again on the big stage.
“It’s great that there are a lot of British swimmers doing so well at the moment,” she added. “We’re all very competitive with each other but in a good way.
“And that can only bode well for us seeing as we have two major competitions coming up this year.”
The BT Paralympic World Cup took place in Manchester with over 400 competitors from 31 countries competing over six days.
Go to btparalympicworld cup.com for more information.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here