Britain's Ellie Simmonds cruised into the final of the S6 freestyle with a new Paralympic record in the heats. The 17-year-old, who is the defending champion, clocked five minutes 24.64 seconds in the opening heat. Her American rival Victoria Arlen won the second heat in 5:25.19 to set up what should be a thrilling final on Saturday evening (17:55 BST). "To come out with a PB in the heats is exciting and I'm really looking forward to tonight," said Simmonds. "The crowd have been great and it gave me a real buzz." Arlen, who was left in a vegetative state for two years after contracting a virus, was told earlier this week that she was ineligible to take part in the Games. The decision was appealed against and she was permitted to compete, although her performances here will be monitored. She broke Simmonds's 100m and 400m freestyle world records in June and the Briton is looking forward to their showdown at the Aquatics Centre. "Victoria's performances are pushing me in training, which is a good thing," Simmonds added. "I just want to go out and swim the best I can. The heat swim shows I am on PB form." Source:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/19448550
