Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athlete Ellie Cole has claimed bronze on debut in the women’s 100-metre swimming freestyle (S9 classification) on day 4 of the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Cole finished in third place, recording a time of 1:05.20. Commonwealth and Paralympic Games champion from South Africa Natalie Du Toit (1:02.36) claimed gold, while England’s Stephanie Millward finished in second place.

This result follows Cole finishing in 4th place in the women’s 50-metre freestyle (S9) on day three of competition.

Since joining the AIS/Paralympic High Performance Swim Program in January this year Cole has produced strong performances at the international level, including a bronze at the IPC Swimming World Championships and qualifying for her first Commonwealth Games.

The 18-year-old Cole trains under AIS/Paralympic High Performance Swim program head coach Graeme Carroll in Canberra, providing her access to the Institute’s leading sports science expertise and state-of-the-art training facilities. She is also currently studying coaching sports science at the University of Canberra.

The swimming program for Elite Athletes with Disability was introduced at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.