Rhys Darbey . . . Gold Medal Winner At 16 Years Old

Gold medalists, Olivia Newman-Baronius, Poppy Maskill, Rhys Darbey and William Ellard of Team Great Britain. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rhys Darbey . . . Gold Medal Winner At 16 Years Old

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By Hannah Blackwell

Welsh teenanger Rhys Darbey has struck gold at his first Paralympics at the age of just 16.

The teenager from Flintshire – who took silver at the Para Swimming World Championships last year – went one better as part of the Mixed S14 4x100m Freestyle Relay team.

Darbey was part of a stunning triumph along with Will Ellard Poppy Maskill and Olivia Newman-Baronius.

The youngster is already looking forward to how a young team can progress to win again in four years’ time.

“I am definitely looking forward to LA (2028 Games), seeing what we can do,” said Darbey.

“To have everyone in this team under 20, and it’s all our very first Paralympics, and we’ve still experienced quite a lot of it. But in LA, hopefully that world record will be ours.”

Darbey believes the success will now gives him confidence for his individual race.

“I’ve got my 200m IM (individual medley SM14) later this week and that being the first race and getting it out of the way, there’s quite a lot of belief and weight off my shoulders.

“I am really looking forward to that.”

Ellard said: “Like Rhys said, our average age is like 18, 19, so we should move on quite a lot for LA (2028 Games).

“A lot more experience and get quicker and get that world record soon.

“We’ve got the 200m IM (individual medley SM14) coming up in a couple of days. A couple of days rest and recover. Just got to get back, rest and make sure the mind is refreshed. It’s basically a mental game.”

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