Commonwealth Youth Games 2023: Sheffield swimmer torches field with record-breaking gold medal in Trinidad

A teenage swimmer from Sheffield has achieved Commonwealth glory after a record-breaking gold medal in Trinidad.

City of Sheffield swimmer Sienna Robinson set a Commonwealth Youth Games best for the Women's 50m breaststroke twice in one day. Her medal-winning 32.09s swim in the final shaved 0.02 seconds off of her previous best - set in the heats earlier that morning.

She said: “I just wanted to bring that gold medal home for England and make my family proud.

"That’s what was carrying me through that final. It was not the nerves – it was just touch that wall before anyone else does and bring it home for England."

Sienna's spectacular win comes just over a year after her appendix ruptured mid-race at the 2022 British Championships. The injury brought her British Championship campaign to an abrupt, disappointing halt. The surgery afterwards slowed her recovey process.

She told The Yorkshire Post: “I went back home, I couldn’t even sit up, I lost the ability to move.

"I was rushed into hospital with a rupturing appendix, sepsis and had to have an operation that day.

“My stomach had been cut open so I couldn’t turn properly in the water for ages... I was told I couldn’t lift weights for risk of giving myself a hernia.”

Swim England said Sienna's "stunning" swim was the standout performance in a successful evening for Team England, after she touched the wall 0.25 seconds ahead of second place. England's young athletes won a total of six medals, including three golds.

Sienna continued: “To race in such a good environment is helping me a lot to give me momentum to go from heats to finals. 

"I’m loving how the team is so united – we all have each other’s backs and were so closely knit. There is no-one in the squad bringing anyone down. 

“We’re all uplifting each other and it’s a really nice environment.”