Australian Holt and New Zealander Pascoe break world records

Australian sprinter Isis Holt and New Zealand swimmer Sophie Pascoe were in outstanding form in the last week, setting new unofficial world records in their respective sports.

At just 14-years-old, Holt has been a revelation since breaking onto the para-athletics scene last year. In October 2015 she won two world titles in Doha, Qatar, and on Saturday (2 April) the teenager set her second world record in as many months.

Competing at the Australian Athletics Championships, the T35 sprinter crossed the line in 13.57 seconds to take 0.06 off the 100m world record she set last October. It was Holt’s second world record this year after she broke her own 200m T35 best at February’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Canberra with a time of 28.38 seconds.

Not to be outdone, 23-year-old Pascoe slashed more than a second off her own 100m butterfly S10 world record with a blistering swim at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships in Auckland.

The 10-time Paralympic medallist went through the 50m mark in a tick under 29 seconds before powering home to smash the previous world mark.

“I was surprised to get down into the 1:02s, I was hoping for a 1:03 low. When I saw 1:02.60 I was pleasantly surprised but I wanted a strong nationals to show all the others beginning their nationals that I am on form for Rio coming up in five months’ time,” Pascoe told www.swimming.org.nz

“Now it is head-down and bum-up and try to get under that again in Rio. It is now all about hard work and dedication. I only have one thing on my mind and that is achieving my goals in Rio.”

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The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

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