Ingleby Barwick swimmer Faye Rogers wins Paralympic gold

The 21-year-old North-Easterner edged out ParalympicsGB team-mate Callie-Ann Warrington to scoop the S10 100m butterfly crown in a British one-two at La Defense Arena.

Rogers took part in Olympic selection trials for Tokyo in 2021 before seriously injuring her right arm in September of that year while driving to training on the day she was due to move to Aberdeen University.

Having suffered several open fractures, a dislocated elbow and a severed ulna nerve, doctors said her competitive swimming career was over.

“It’s been an absolute whirlwind, the last three years,” said Rogers. “It’s been a massive journey. I couldn’t be prouder of where I’ve come from and how I’ve got here.

“Being told you’re never going to swim competitively again, as someone whose life revolved around swimming, that was really, really difficult.

“Getting into Para swimming has been amazing. It’s honestly been a lifesaver for me.

“I don’t think I’d have coped with the accident and my impairment without being able to swim. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Faye Rogers powers to victory in the Paralympic final in Paris (Image: Adam Davy)

Rogers added: “It’s exactly three years as of now since my accident, so it’s a bit emotional.

"It’s a big full circle moment and I couldn’t be prouder of how far I’ve come. I couldn’t have asked for more from the last three years.

“There are always days it feels like it’s never going to get any better, but it does. There’s always a way to adapt to stuff and overcome stuff. I’ve found over the last three years there’s nothing I can’t do - it might just look a little bit different.

"I could not have imagined this ever happening, it’s crazy and so cool. I’ve started getting messages off people in similar situations and it makes me so proud and grateful that my experiences are helping other people."

World champion Rogers was fastest ahead of Warrington by 1.31 seconds in the heats but trailed her compatriot at the halfway point of last night's final.

The biochemistry student, who swam for Stockton ASC before heading to university in Scotland, battled back to touch the wall in one minute 5.84 secs – taking the title by just 0.57 secs.

“I could see Callie next to me,” she said “I got a bit nervous but I was relatively confident.

“Callie put up a really good fight down that second 50 (metres), pushed me on a lot. I couldn’t be more happy with the outcome.”

Rogers is by Patrick Miley at the University of Aberdeen, who guided the career of his daughter Hannah, a three-time Olympian and double world medallist.

The Teessider won this event on her international debut at last year's World Championships in Manchester and has her sights now trained on Sophie Pascoe's long-standing World record, viewed as one of para swimming landmark bests.

Rogers was back swimming just three months after her accident, with Miley having played a major role in her development.

"I met Patrick before my accident and I was so excited about moving to Aberdeen to train with him," she added.

"Hannah was one of my heroes in the British swimming team, I loved the way she was nicknamed Smiley and just how much she seemed to love the sport.

"Swimming is my life and when I thought that would be taken away from me it was very hard to deal with."

Maidstone-born Warrington clocked a personal best of one minute 6.41 secs as she held off the challenge of Canadian bronze medallist Katie Cosgriffe to claim silver.

“To be able to race against Faye is just everything,” said the 24-year-old. “We have been saying to each other the last couple of months, ‘Come on, we can get the one-two’. It was lovely to have her next to me.

“We are very good friends until we get to the blocks, then we are competitors and it’s nice to be able to separate that. We are both very determined people.”