Tully Kearney was "ecstatic" with her record-breaking performance at the Para Swimming World Series event in Berlin over the weekend - while Hannah Russell's impressive early-season form continued too with another World Series gold.
Kearney - who made her senior international debut for Britain at the Schwimm-und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark venue more than a decade ago - was competing for the first time since a memorable Tokyo 2020 that brought the Manchester National Performance Centre athlete her maiden Paralympic title in the S5 100m Freestyle, as well as silver in the 200m Freestyle.
Despite some disruptions in the build-up, Tully was superb in the pool, twice breaking her own Women's S5 50m Freestyle world record on the way to a bronze medal in the multi-classification event, her best time of 35.28 ensuring a points tally that put her one place ahead of teammate Russell.
While Kearney also claimed silver in the 100m Freestyle event (an eye-catching 951-point haul only bettered by Germany's S4 swimmer Tanja Scholz, in a new world record), Russell secured Britain's solo gold of the meet, the three-time Paralympian winning the Women's MC 50m Backstroke with a brilliant sprint to 907 points. Russell was also fourth in the aforementioned 50m Freestyle.
For Kearney, meanwhile, there was no hiding her delight at this medal-laden and world-record-setting return to action.
"I'm ecstatic to have performed so well in my first competition since Tokyo, as I'm still building up my training due to a shoulder issue," she explained.
"I love the pool here in Berlin and have such happy memories of my first GB selection here 11 years ago, when I was only 14 years old! I've had an especially difficult month due to getting Covid and then falling out of my wheelchair, so to break the 50m Freestyle world record when I've not had the best build-up is just incredible and gives me confidence ahead of the World Championships in Madeira."
Grace Harvey was another Brit to claim a medal double in Germany, as she clocked a 2:41.47 in the Women's MC 200m Freestyle, a time worth 813 points and a superb silver behind home favourite Scholz. Harvey then added a bronze to her collcetion after placing third in the Women's 200m Individual Medley, her impressive score of 898 points again showing the former Hoddesdon swimmer's versatility across the strokes.
Rounding out Britain's medal haul was Tom Hamer, the S14 man's bronze coming in the Men's MC 200m Freestyle thanks to a time of 1:58.40. That scored him 806 points, another promising display at this time of the season but not enough to surpass the top two, including Argentina's Inaki Basiloff (S7), whose classification world record won him the gold. Oliver Carter recorded a solid fifth-placed finish in that same 200m Freestyle event.
In total, 12 British para-swimmers competed across the four days in Berlin as the Para Swimming World Series, which began in style in Aberdeen two months ago, continued. Eight of that dozen have been selected to the team heading to Madeira's World Championships in June, with this outing the latest competition opportunity for those fine-tuning their training work and arena skills.
The British team that competed in Berlin, Germany
- Oliver Carter
- Natalia Chociaj
- Thomas Hamer
- Grace Harvey
- Tully Kearney
- Jack Milne
- Leah O'Connell
- William Perry
- Matthew Redfern
- Rebecca Redfern
- Hannah Russell
- Zach Washington-Young