Iona Winnifrith is not like other 13-year-olds – she is a Paralympic silver medallist.
The Tonbridge native is also not like other 13-year-olds because the swimmer was not satisfied with second place.
The teenager became ParalympicsGB’s youngest swimming medallist this century as she set a personal best in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7 final and was beaten only by a lowering of the world record.
Winnifrith beat her own British record with a time of 1min29.61sec, finishing 3.60sec behind gold medallist and Neutral Paralympic Athlete Mariia Pavlova.
“I was really excited going into this race, so [I’m] really happy,” said Winnifrith, who is one of more than 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.
“I knew I just needed to fight and power off and do what I need to do.
“Of course, I really wanted that gold, but you can’t have everything. I’m 13, I’m young, but I’m super happy with that performance.
“I knew I needed to do another good performance. I knew it would be who performs well, and I knew what I needed to do.
“I spoke to my coach about trying to keep up with the girls all the way through and powering through the last end. Getting a silver medal at 13 is really cool.”
ParalympicsGB’s youngest athlete at Paris 2024, Winnifrith combines her passion for swimming with a love for theatre.
Competing in her second final at her first Paralympic Games, Winnifrith emulated her idol Ellie Simmonds by winning a Paralympic medal at 13.
“Ellie [Simmonds] has influenced me so much,” she said. “I’ve met her a few times, and she is very good at talking to us and inspiring us.
“As much as I wanted a gold, a silver is…what more could I want?
“One of my old clubmates, Callie-Ann Warrington, got silver a few nights ago so to join her is a really cool experience.
“Hopefully LA, we’ll see what happens as things can change in four years but hopefully, I’ll be there.”
Winnifrith still has one event of the Games to go, Saturday’s 50m butterfly, where she finished fourth at the European Championships earlier this year.
“I’ve still got the fly and then I can just relax and enjoy it and I’m really happy,” she said.
“My friends will be like mad, it’s pretty cool. They’ll be so proud. Some of them have gone on this journey, my teachers believed in me, too.”
“My teammates have all supported me, everyone’s like a big supportive family, we all support each other.”
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