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Your support makes all the difference.Oliver Hynd won gold in the SM8 200 metres individual medley last night with an unstoppable performance at the Aquatics Centre.
The 17-year-old has enjoyed a superb Paralympic debut and came into the race with a silver and bronze already from the Games.
His moment was tempered slightly by the knowledge that his brother Sam had just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth behind Wang Jiachao of China and Maurice Deelen of the Netherlands.
None, however, could match Hynd. The Nottinghamshire swimmer fought back from third after the first turn to draw level with the leaders at the halfway point. He then moved clear with his breaststroke and carried the lead through the final freestyle leg, finishing in 2min 24.63sec.
"I don't believe it – it's amazing," Hynd said. "When I touched I didn't really want to believe it. I thought, 'It can't be right' but I'm Paralympic champion and I'm over the moon. This has just been amazing.
"I'm really happy with that race. I got a PB [personal best] too which is great. The PBs are what we train for essentially."
Hannah Russell also made the podium for Great Britain, claiming her third medal of the Games with a bronze in the S12 100m backstroke.
Russell, the second-youngest British medallist after turning 16 only last month, was the fastest into the final and was in contention for the lead on the first length. However, Oxana Savchenko pulled away on the second 50m to record a new world record with Russell just touched out for third.
Russell said: "I never thought I could ever get medals at such a young age in such a good, strong category. To come here and medal is a bonus for me."
Charlotte Henshaw missed out on gold by just three-hundredths of a second in the SB6 100m breaststroke, claiming silver, with team-mate Liz Johnson taking bronze.
Henshaw had been shocked with her performance in her heat when she set a Paralympic record, lowering the time Mark Johnson had laid down in the previous race. It led to hopes of a British one-two but, in a thrilling race, Henshaw was narrowly beaten by Viktoria Savtsova of Ukraine.
Robert Welbourn claimed Britain's fifth medal of the night with a valiant bronze in the 400m freestyle.
The Chesterfield-born swimmer went into the final ranked fifth after a heat that promised a competitive final with little more than six seconds separating the field.
Welbourn said: "I am really pleased. I said it was going to be a tough race and it definitely was. So I am happy to come away with a medal."
Louise Watkin rounded things off in style with silver in the S9 50m freestyle, losing out to Chinese swimmer Ling Ping by just 0.09sec.
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