The 19-year-old clocked one minute and three seconds to claim the women's 100m butterfly S14 title on the first day of the Paralympics in Paris. Asked how she was feeling, Maskill said: "Unreal. Weird. I was just hoping that I swam as hard as I could, and see what happens."
Maskill's success at La Defense Arena followed a silver for fellow British teenager William Ellard in the men's equivalent event.
Ellard, 18, touched the line in 54.86 seconds and was pipped to gold by Danish athlete Alexander Hillhouse.
Earlier in the day inside a sweltering Paris velodrome, ParalympicsGB's medal count began with silvers for Daphne Schrager and the pairing of Stephen Bate and Christopher Latham on the tandem. But there was heartbreak for gold-medal favourite Kadeena Cox, who fell at the first bend in her final.
Cox, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after a stroke in May 2014, was racing in the 500m time trial - two laps of the track against the clock in the C4-5 category and had been second fastest in the morning's qualifying races.
This story is from the August 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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