FIRTH'S FIRE BURNS AFTER GIVING BIRTH

Briton wins a silver, then says it is not just about medals but all the hard work put in

- Melvyn Teoh

Grinning from ear to ear, Bethany Firth stood proudly alongside her compatriots as Britain swept the podium of the women's 100m backstroke S14 final at the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships on Sept 22.

But not many people know that she was making her competitive comeback in Singapore after about two years, having just returned from a maternity break. The 29-year-old had become a mother in August 2024, giving birth to baby girl Charlotte.

Despite the long hiatus, she clocked Imin 5.54sec to clinch a silver medal at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, watched by about 1,000 fans in the 3,000-capacity venue.

Firth was 0.45sec behind 2024 Paris Paralympic champion Poppy Maskill, who won the gold in a championship-record 1:05.09. Georgia Sheffield was third in 1:06.27.

Asked about her juggling act of being a mother and an athlete, Firth said sport needs to support athletes like her more.

The six-gold Paralympian added: “The most challenging part of swimming is all the early mornings, there's a lot of training. No one sees that.

“They only see a minute of that race, and they expect a lot from just one minute, whereas they don't see all the hard work of getting up early and sacrifices.