Suzanna Hext wins Para Swimming World Championship Gold

Suzanna Hext took her first ever World Championship title with a stellar performance in the Women’s S5 50m Freestyle – getting the touch over her two competitors in the adjacent lanes to see her return to a Worlds podium for the first time since 2019.

The 34 year-old was seeded second for the one length ‘splash and dash’ following a solid showing in the heats, which saw her lined up against solid opposition with a whole host of experience at this level.

Following a start which saw her right up with the athletes at the top of the pack, she did well to bide her time and stomach the charge of China’s Lu Dong – as her and Ukraine’s Iryna Poida both made a move when the race made its way towards the flags and hit the wall simultaneously – before ultimately taking the gold medal in a new personal best time of 36.71, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Poida for the silver.

“It’s an honour to get the Great Britain team going”, said Hext after she took the first medal of the competition for Great Britain.

“Hopefully that’s the first of many to come as it’s a very exciting week ahead. It’s my first time being a world champion and I’m feeling absolutely blown away at the moment as it feels surreal and I’m just trying to take it all in.

“The last few years have been tough, but it’s made me resilient and you have to learn to rise above it and adapt. I love what I do and the team around us, my coach, British Swimming, my family and friends – without them this wouldn’t be possible. To come away with this gold medal isn’t for me really, it’s for everyone who has helped me on the journey.”