Bethany Firth switches allegiances to Team GB

Bethany Firth, a gold medal winner at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, will no longer swim for Ireland after changing her nationality in order to compete for Team GB.

The 17-year-old from Seaforde, Co Down had her request formally approved by the International Paralympic Committee today.

“It is with regret that Paralympics Ireland acknowledges the decision by Bethany Firth to change nationality to Team GB,” Paralympics Ireland announced this afternoon.

“It is always a moment of great pride for Team Ireland when the athletes in whom we have invested so much energy, time and training achieve such great results as those achieved by Bethany.

“Bethany’s progress under the Paralympics Ireland High Performance Swimming Programme since joining us serves as a shining example of the potential within us all to achieve greatness . . . ultimately this is a personal decision for Bethany and we in Team Ireland would like to express our gratitude to her for all that she has achieved in her time competing with Team Ireland and we wish her all the very best in the future.”

Firth shot to national prominence in August of last year, holding off Australia’s Taylor Corry and the Netherlands’ Marlou van der Kulk to triumph in the 100m backstroke. It was Ireland’s first gold medal of the Paralympic Games.

And this summer Firth confirmed her undoubted class as her brought home three silver medals from the Paralympic World Championships in Montreal, finishing runner-up in the 200m freestyle and 100m breaststroke before completing her haul with a personal best in the final of the 100 metres backstroke.