Ellie Challis got the Para Swimming World Series inc. British Para-Swimming Meet 2022 off to a red-hot start as she broke her own British S3 100m Freestyle record in the first heats session.
Challis - who was Paralympics GB's youngest medallist in Tokyo last summer - was up in the very first heat of the meet, as the Women's MC 100m Freestyle got the action underway at Aberdeen Sports Village. And it did not take long for the National Performance Centre athlete to make her mark, clocking 1:49.52 to knock more than three seconds off her personal best. Germany's Tanja Scholz led the way overall.
Hannah Russell - another of the NPC cohort - was the top British qualifier, the S12 swimmer earning 817 British Para-Swimming points to qualify second-top for the final. Each multi-classification race is determined by the points total of each athlete, which is set in relation to their own classification. Toni Shaw (University of Stirling) was right behind on 810 points.
Team Waveney's Jordan Catchpole led the closely-contested qualifying in the Men's MC 100m Freestyle after a strong first swim of the competition. His tally of 841 points put him as the man to beat ahead of what looks set to be a strong final, alongside University of Edinburgh man Stephen Clegg, the S12 competitor notching 833. The top three qualifiers were completed by Louis Lawlor (City of Glasgow) on 822.
Paralympic champion Maisie Summers-Newton smashed through the 900-point mark in the Women's 200m Individual Medley - the event that brought her Paralympic gold and a new world record in Tokyo. Summers-Newton - who trains at Northampton Swimming Club - showed that world-class prowess, finishing on 919 points, ahead of Bethany Firth on 812 and Ireland's Roisin Ni Riain (782).
Fresh from his 100m Freestyle swim, S14 swimmer Lawlor was back in to lay down a good marker in the Men's 200m Individual Medley, a tally of 773 points ensuring he was the top British qualifier, narrowly ahead of Plymouth Leander's Cameron Vearncombe on 772.
Rounding out the morning were the heats of the 150m Individual Medleys. Lyndon Longhorne, setter of five British records across various events in 2021, began his schedule for the meet with a 537 point in the Men's 150m IM heats. Louth Dolphin's Harvey Phillips was the other Brit involved - both are S4 athletes.
Head over to our #Aberdeen2022 LIVE page to get access to full results, the session livestream and more.