Firth scoops Ireland’s first Paralympic gold medal

Dusk was falling on day two of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London last night with Team Ireland still striving for their first medal.

Then Down’s 15-year old Bethany Firth jumped into the Aquatic Centre’s pool and later climbed out a champion after taking the 100m backstroke S14 final. Not that she realised it right away.

“I looked up after 25 [metres] and thought: ‘I really need to pick this up.’ It just took me to the end. I thought I had finished third but then I looked up and saw I came first. The crowd was amazing. I could hear them under the water.”