Rhys Darbey mounted a stunning comeback to add the SM14 200m Individual Medley silver medal to his relay gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
The 17-year-old stormed home to a lifetime best of 2:08.61 at La Defense Arena to take the Welsh medal tally in Paris to five.
Trailing the leading pack after the opening Butterfly leg, the Nofio Clwyd athlete touched the wall in seventh position, but began to shift through the gears as he completed the backstroke leg in 34.12 to move up two places into fifth at the halfway mark.
Darbey kept building throughout the breaststroke leg as he moved up another place into fourth, but he was still half a second behind Australia’s Ricky Betar in third and close to a second off Ukraine’s Dmytro Vanzenko heading into the final 50m.
But he turned on the afterburners from the turn with a medal in his sights, and powered through the water in the final 25m to earn a spectacular silver medal ahead of the Australian swimmer in Lane 5. His final freestyle split of 29.25 was the fastest in the field by some distance as he capped a dream Paralympics debut with a silver medal. His time of 2:08.61 was a huge lifetime best for the North Walian.
“That last 50m, I really had to try my hardest because I could see the Ukrainian next to me and he helped me push that last 50m. I loved that last 50m, I love the back end of a race!” said Rhys afterwards.
“I’m very happy with that, it’s my first individual final at a Paralympics so to come second is great, and it’s two races out of two that I’ve won a medal, so I’m really chuffed! I was hoping for a medal, but I definitely didn’t think I’d get two and one of them gold. I’m just over the moon, to be honest.”
