Maisie Summers-Newton snatched the 200m individual medley title from her hero Ellie Simmonds as Great Britain registered two swimming golds in world record times on Day 2 of the Paralympics.
Tully Kearney also topped the podium at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, storming to victory in the S5 100m freestyle to make up for the disappointment of being denied gold in heartbreaking fashion the previous day.
Summers-Newton grew up idolising five-time Paralympic champion Simmonds, initially inspired by her exploits at London 2012.
The pair qualified first and third in the SM6 event, with compatriot Grace Harvey sandwiched in between, while Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko laid down a marker in the other heat with a world record time of 2:56.90.
Summers-Newton was clearly inspired by that feat and successfully lowered it to 2:56.68 just hours later.
Silver medallist Mereshko lagged 1.36 seconds behind, while GB flag-bearer Simmonds — winner of this event in both London and Rio 2016 — had to settle for fifth, 7.69 sec off the pace, with Harvey sixth.
Simmonds said of Summers-Newton: “She’s inspiring that next generation now. She’s following in my footsteps four years previously, now she’s the one.
“She’s the nicest girl in the world. I’m so happy for her. She got, I think, inspired by me and I’m sure so many people watching tonight are going to get inspired by her. She’s carrying on that and it’s amazing.
“We saw Mareshko do it this morning, I was like ‘You can do this.’ And she did.”
Reflecting on her own performance, Simmonds, one of the most well-known faces of the Paralympic movement, had no regrets.
“I’m completely happy with it really. It was the fastest that I’ve been this year,” she said. “I felt super-controlled, super-happy, super-relaxed, and to see Maisie smash it and get the gold and world record, I’m just so happy for her.”
Summers-Newton, who — like Simmonds — has achondroplasia, said: “It’s really, really cool. Ellie is such an amazing swimmer.
“Everything she’s done for para sport is just incredible and I’ve definitely got used to racing her lots now, especially since she got back from Rio so I’m definitely used to it.
“Having her there is really supportive and comforting in a way, knowing she’s done it for such a long time. She’s such a staple in para sport.”
That intriguing battle came in the aftermath of Kearney’s moment of magic. She stylishly shrugged off any lingering dismay of being pipped at the last by China’s Zhang Li in Wednesday’s 200m freestyle with a convincing performance.
She broke her own world record by almost two seconds, finishing in 1:14.39 as Zhang — 3.41 seconds adrift — this time had to settle for second.
Fellow Briton Suzanna Hext was edged into fourth.
Kearney missed Rio because of injury and was also told by a doctor she may not swim again after her dystonia worsened.
“It’s made everything worth it. I tried not to watch Rio because it made me upset, but there were some people who I really wanted to watch and support from home,” she said.
“Back then it was really frustrating seeing the races won in slower times than I’d produced the year before, and at that point I never thought I’d swim again.
“It was a case of thinking my dream was over and that I’d never get to a Paralympics, so to get here now and win a gold medal is crazy.”
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
