Gold Medalist Bethany Up for Sportswoman of the Year

Paralympic Gold Medalist Bethany Firth has already won one race this summer but she is line to start another one, albeit of a more relaxing variety.

The 16 year old swimming champion has just been announced as The Irish Times / Irish Sports Council ‘Sportswoman of the Month’ for August which means she will be in line to bag the Sportswoman of the Year Award at the end of the year.

Bethany with her gold medal at this year's Games.

The girl from County Down won the country’s first gold medal in the women’s 100m backstroke S14 final at this year’s London Paralympic Games.

In what was an incredible swim, Bethany led from the very beginning and finished with an impressive time of 8.93 seconds.

Speaking of her victory she said: “I thought I came third and I was like ‘oh, okay’, and then I saw first and I was like, ‘oh, my word’.”

The moment 16 year old Bethany crossed the finish line.

The Sportswoman of the Year recognizes the talents and achievements of women in Irish sports. A panel of judges, made up of people from The Irish Times, RTÉ and the Evening Herald, picks a winner from the 12 monthly winners in December.

Bethany is up against the likes of Katie Taylor (Boxing), Fiona Coghlan (Rugby) and Stephanie Meadow (Golf) for the title.