With the Commonwealth Games just around the corner, Australia's para-athletes have continued to stake their claim as podium favourites, taking out five more medals at the World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal overnight.
Night six was headlined by Paralympian Rowan Crothers OAM, who won his second gold of the championships, beating Stefano Raimondi in the dramatic final sprint of the Men's 100 metres Freestyle S10 final to touch the wall in just 50.70 seconds.
It means the 24-year-old clocked the second-fastest ever 100m freestyle swim for any athlete with disability.
In another nail-biting finish, Australia's Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay S14 team just missed out on gold by 0.01 second in the Championship's new event.
Great Britain clinched top spot, with a time of 4:08 and will head into their home games in Birmingham this July with the tide of momentum at their backs.
Dolphin leader Katja Dedekind also made history in the pool, setting a new Oceania record in the Women's 400m Freestyle S13 Final, with a personal best time of 4:34.68 to claim silver in her third event.
Timothy Hodge added to his Championship medal haul, taking out bronze in the Men's 100m Backstroke Final S9 with a time of 1:01.88, while the squad's most experienced swimmer, Matthew Levy, also won bronze in his second race of the night, clocking 1:24.36 in the Men's 100m Breaststroke SB6 Final.
Australia have won six gold, 15 silver and nine bronze medals at this World Para Swimming Championships.
The success will give the team a lot of confidence heading into Birmingham, which will see the largest para-sport program integrated in the history of the Commonwealth Games, as well as being the first event where more medals are available for women than for men.
Other para-events include athletics, wheelchair basketball, cycling, lawn bowls, para-powerlifting, table tennis and triathlon.
Wheelchair basketball 3 x 3 will make its debut as part of the para-sport program, while three able-bodied sports — women's cricket T20, 3x3 basketball, and mixed synchronised diving — will also appear for the first time.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games can be watched live on Channel 7, 7mate, and streaming platform 7Plus from July 28 to August 8.
