TEENAGE swimming sensation Ellie Simmonds was tonight crowned queen of the pool as she dramatically defended her Paralympic title — by smashing the world record.
Simmonds, 17, had the Aquatics Centre in raptures as she touched home ahead of rival Victoria Arlen in a pulsating race.
She was trailing for much of the tussle but powered home in the final 50 metres, beating the previous world record — previously held by Arlen — by an incredible five seconds.
The build-up to the S6 400m freestyle race was marred by controversy as the American was subjected to a late reclassification ruling.
But Simmonds kept her eye firmly on the prize, and beamed with pride and tears of joy as she retained the title she won as a 13-year-old in Beijing.
The atmosphere in the Aquatics Centre was electric from the off, with fans on their feet and roaring as she was introduced.
After the race, an emotional and “exhausted” Simmonds choked back tears as she paid tribute to the crowd.
She said: “It was so tough.
“It was so hard on the last 100 and I thought I have to put my head down and I will do it for everyone who has supported me.”
She added: “Everyone has been wishing me good luck and I did this for myself, my family and everyone.”
Thousands also cheered her on at the big screen in the Olympic Park, which erupted at the end of the race.
There was confusion in the lead-up to the final after Arlen was initially deemed ineligible and excluded from the heat.
But the United States’ appeal to the International Paralympic Committee was upheld and the 17-year-old was reinstated on Thursday.
In a two-stage process, Arlen passed an initial assessment but she was also observed during racing today.
Simmonds’ remarkable victory capped a memorable Super Saturday for ParalympicsGB which left Britain in their targeted position of second in the table with a 34-medal haul.
The tally includes nine golds, 14 silvers and 11 bronze medals.
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