London calling as Fraser nets bronze in 100m clash

EDINBURGH swimmer Sean Fraser landed Paralympic bronze yesterday – then immediately set his sights on upgrading it to gold in 2012.

The 18-year-old produced an impressive swim in the 100m backstroke final, clocking one minute 11.28 seconds as Russian Konstantin Lisenkov smashed his own world record to claim the title, with Australian Peter Leek a close second.

"I'm ranked three in the world but the top two are something special," said Fraser, who is making his Games debut in China.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I would have liked to go under 1.10 but I'm so pleased I won a medal it doesn't matter what the time is. I wasn't ignoring the top two but I was only swimming my own race and was focused on getting a PB and swimming as well as I could.

"I would like to think I could challenge them in 2012. There is no guarantee in sport but I think I will be right up there and much closer. I was the youngest out there and with the home support to spur you on, hopefully I will win gold in four years."

Meanwhile, fellow Scot Andrew Lindsay is on course for a 400m freestyle medal after progressing to the final as the third-fastest qualifier this morning.

"That was my fastest time this year, which is great," he said.

"I felt in control through the first 300m but the final 100m was really tough. I am hoping to go faster in the final and make up for yesterday."

Lindsay's defence of his classifications 100m backstroke title, which he won in Sydney and Athens, had ended in failure as American Lantz Lamback won gold in a new world record. British team-mate Jon Fox also just pushed him out the medals.

"I was shocked he went that quick," added Lindsay. "I thought he played his trump card in the heats, so to do it again in the final is something else.

"I came here as the two-time champion and that speaks for itself. I knew it would be tough as Jon and the Argentine were always going to challenge but we didn't expect Lantz to be there and do what he did."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Britain's men's wheelchair basketball team continued their impressive form with a confident 82-67 victory over Israel this morning. The 2004 bronze medallists, who beat reigning champions the United States earlier this week, now face an anxious wait to learn their quarter-final opponents.

Simon Munn was the star of the show with a 25-point haul while newcomer Abdillah Jama also impressed.

• LLOYDS TSB, proud first partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of ParalympicsGB on their journey to 2012. Visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012

Related topics: