Highbridge swimmer Anthony Stephens finished in fifth place in the final of the 100metres freestyle at the Paralympics in London on Saturday evening.
The 26 year-old, who lives in Burnham Road, Highbridge, qualified for the final of the 100m S5 freestyle earlier in the day with a season’s best time of 1:19:05.
In the final, he finished in fifth place with an even quicker time of 1:17:23, which was less than two seconds away from the time of the third-placed bronze medal winner.
Anthony attracted loud cheers from the spectators at the swimming complex when he emerged at the start wearing a large Union Jack hat.
Afterwards, he tweeted: “It’s all over guys! Massive seasons best and I’m over the moon with it. Thank you to everyone for your support, couldn’t of done it without you all.”
He has been strongly supported by family and friends throughout the games and can be proud of his achievements, having broken his personal best times in several races.
In the first week of the Paralympics, he finished in fourth place in the 200m freestyle final, just six seconds behind the bronze medal winning finisher. He also reached the final of the Freestyle 50m where was sixth.
