Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Day one of swimming action in the Water Cube did not quite match the in the velodrome but Sascha Kindred gave it his all and was once again rewarded for his sterling efforts.

Kindred made it three consecutive wins in the SM6 200m individual medley, completing one half of a potential triple-double as he chases a third SB7 200m breaststroke crown later in the meeting - a title he also won in Sydney and Athens.

It was a first night session packed with world records - 13 in all - and some Chinese performances that had the sell-out crowd on their feet and making a racket.

With three Chinese rivals in his race and coming in as defending Paralympic champion, Kindred was under a certain amount of pressure going into his race.

The 30-year-old came out at the to a huge roar from the crowd but he kept his mind on the job, listening to his mp3 player as he prepared for the start of his race.

The majority of the crowd had come to see if their leading Chinese hopes Yang Yungrun and Xu Qing, who were on either side of Kindred, could get the better of him, and things looked good for them early on.

Xu led after the opening butterfly leg with Kindred second and Yang took over the lead after the backstroke leg with Kindred trailing in his wake.

But it is on the breaststroke leg where the Briton has long had the advantage over his rivals and with an outstanding burst of speed, the SB7 200m breaststroke world record holder swept past his rivals to build up a lead of almost three seconds at the last turn.

The Chinese pair fought back on the final freestyle leg but Kindred, cheered on by a sizeable British following, including his mother and brother, was not going to be denied another Paralympic crown and world record.

After seeing the result on the scoreboard he thumped the water with sheer delight - but it is only job half-done.

"Sydney in 2000 had a lot to live up to but this was probably the best atmosphere I have ever swam in," he said afterwards.

"I was aware of the crowd more because there were three Chinese swimmers up against me but I think having that sort of crowd cheering you on so loudly spurs everyone on."

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ summariser and former Paralympic swimmer Marc Woods said: "Sascha is the consummate professional and to go out and win three consecutive golds in an event is a superb achievement.

"I trained with him for a while and he is a great all-round athlete and prepares so well. It was definitely the British performance of the night."

While Kindred is an experienced campaigner, the younger members of the team are trying not to be overawed by the sheer scale of the event and stadium.

Thirteen-year-old Eleanor Simmonds, who was fifth in the SM6 200m medley described it as "scary" while Lizzie Simpkin, who recently turned 14, told me that she tried not to look up at the crowd while she prepared for the S9 100m butterfly final where she was sixth but when she did, the stadium was bigger than she imagined.

Fellow debutant Rachel Latham was also left impressed. "Now I've experienced this sort of atmosphere, I want to get more of it," she admitted.

Where the Chinese crowd could not spur their swimmers against Kindred, they had much to cheer about as Du Jianping smashed the world record for the S3 100m freestyle.

Du had set a new Paralympic record in the morning heats but his new world mark of one minute 35.21 seconds was almost six seconds better than the previous best and the crowd let him know their appreciation as he won them their sole gold of the night.

. Defending champions Jim Anderson (S2 200m freestyle) and Natalie Jones (SM6 200m IM) saw their crowns slip and they had to be content with silver and bronze respectively.

However, Matt Walker was proud of his SM7 200m IM bronze which sets him up for his 100m freestyle on Monday.

"When I finished I thought I had finished sixth," he said. "I didn't want to do this event but my coach Mick Massey said to do it and I'm glad I listened to him.

"This is the best pool I have ever swam at and the best team I have been involved with."