Swimming
STEPHEN Clegg broke two British records on his way to a silver medal at the London 2019 World Para Swimming Allianz championships.
Clegg, whose mother Moira Beattie lives in Langholm, and father Peter lives in Newcastleton, was competing in the 100m backstroke when he broke the British Record for the S12 100m butterfly (57.63) and to qualify for the final and was the fastest qualifier.
The 23-year old, who has recently started training at the National Performance Centre in Manchester, said: “That was a solid heat swim and it was nice to get a PB.
“The last 15m hurt a lot more than I was hoping but tonight I’ll take the first 50 a bit easier and have enough to come back strongly. I feel I’ve more to come tonight.”
He certainly showed no fatigue when he lined up for the final on Tuesday night.
He broke the British Record again on his way to the silver medal.
He turned first at the 50m mark and was shoulder to shoulder with Dzmitry Salei (BLR) in the final 15m.
It was the athlete from Belarus who took the touch in 57.28, with Clegg winning silver in 57.36.
Despite being so close to gold, Clegg was far from disappointed.
He said: “I’m really happy with that result. I’ve progressed again and that’s all you can ask for.
“I’ve learned a lot from the last 12 months and I can take all of this to Tokyo. I’m thrilled and the crowd, wow! I had goosebumps today.”