Mansfield swimmer Charlotte Henshaw take bronze at Rio 2016

She was made to wait for her time to shine in the pool but Charlotte Henshaw made every second count as she took bronze in the women's 100m breaststroke SB6 final.
Swimmer Charlotte Henshaw. Pic credit: onEdition.Swimmer Charlotte Henshaw. Pic credit: onEdition.
Swimmer Charlotte Henshaw. Pic credit: onEdition.

Mansfield swimmer Henshaw touched the wall in 1:37.79, 2.4 seconds behind 15-year-old Tiffany Thomas Kane of Australia who took gold, with USA’s Sophia Elizabeth Herzog in second.

Henshaw, 29, who won silver in the event at London 2012, had earlier broke the Paralympic record with a time of 1:38.11, only for Kane to break it further, firstly in her heat and then in the final.

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Henshaw battled for bronze against Paralympics GB team-mate Ellie Simmonds, who was forced to settle for fourth place, in a time of 1:39.46.

She said: “That was hard work, it hurt a lot. I felt really relaxed going into it, I went quicker than this morning but I’m disappointed with the time.

“But I always say people shouldn’t dismiss a medal at the Paralympic Games, it’s a great thing to be here.

“It’s very hard to get a medal now, so to get on the podium at 29, I’m quite happy with that.”

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Charlotte has been on the British team for almost ten years and has consistently won medals at major competitions.

At London 2012, she set a new Paralympic record of 1:39.64 in the qualifying heats of the 100m breaststroke SB6 and in doing so beating the Paralympic record set by teammate Liz Johnson in the first heat just minutes previously.

In the final, she further reduced this time to 1:39.16, but finished just 0.03 seconds behind Viktoriia Savtsova to take the silver medal as Johnson took bronze.

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