one tough cookie

Meet Bryall McPherson. She’s one tough chick.

Not one to let a small matter like losing her arm to bone cancer get her down, the 20 year old kiwi decided to take up swimming and is now training hard to achieve her goal of Paralympic gold. We’re stoked to be able to support Bryall, and plus, her fantastic attitude and her constant new PB's are a great reminder to stop your whinging and just get on with training!

Byrall already holds a number of NZ Paralympic Records for 100 Freestyle (1.19.15), 50m butterfly (36.85), and more look to come with unofficial records achieved at a recent level 2 SC meet in Auckland in the 50m butterfly (36.82) 100m butterfly (1.23.35).

Her recent outing to the 2010 Queensland short course championships (28th - 29th August 2010) also saw her leave the event with three more medals;

50 SC Metre Butterfly Multi-Class 36.89 (Gold)
50 SC Metre Freestyle Multi-Class 35.69 (Silver)
50 SC Metre Backstroke Multi-Class 42.08 (Silver)

To find out more about Bryalls amazing story, check out this piece from Asia Downunder.

nero comp takes Paralympic gold honors

While wearing a blueseventy nero comp swimskin, Kevin Paul of South Afirca slashed more than four seconds from his personal best time on Wednesday on his way to winning a gold medal for the 100m breaststroke SB9 in the Beijing Paralympics.

The 17-year-old broke his own world record -- set in the morning heats -- when he won the final in 1:08.58 and his face mirrored his disbelief as he saw the scoreboard showing the time.

“I started this morning with a 1:12 personal best,” he said after the race, “and I couldn't believe it when I saw the time for the heat. I was hoping for a 1:10,” he said.

But he had taken more that two seconds off the old mark of 1:10.85, and then he shaved a further 12 hundredths off the new mark in the final as he beat local hero Lin Furong into second by exactly a second, with former world record-holder Dimitry Polin of Russia 3.16 seconds behind in fifth.