STEPHANIE Millward’s long wait for a first Paralympic gold medal is at an end after the Corsham swimmer won the women’s S8 100m backstroke title in Rio on Tuesday night.

The 34-year-old lowered the new Games record she had set earlier in the day in the morning heats, racing away from her opposition to win in a time of 1 minute 13.02 seconds, more than four seconds clear of her closest rival.

It ended an 18-year odyssey to reach the top of the podium, Millward competing at the Beijing and London Games having been in the frame for a place as an able-bodied swimmer at the Sydney Olympics of 2000 before her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Millward, who won five medals at London 2012, but no golds, said: “It’s amazing, three Paralympic Games, 18 years of multiple sclerosis and here I am with that gold medal I’ve been striving for, for so long.

“I wrote a poem ages ago called MS My War, it said about how we have to keep on striving for winning the war and I think that that swim has just won that war.

“I’ve done all that hard work, for all those years, with the help of the National Lottery, who are fantastic.”

Millward, who earlier in the week won bronze medals in both the S8 women’s 400m and 100m freestyle, could add to her Rio medal haul as she goes in the 50m freestyle, 200m individual medley and two relays, the first of which is today.

“Every time the public pay £2 to play the Lottery, it is helping to raise the awareness of swimming and of other sports, it’s fantastic,” she added.

“It’s given me the opportunity to be a Paralympic swimmer and to win that gold, so to everybody, thank you very much.

“Going onto the podium will be amazing and it’s all because of everybody in the general public, everyone in the UK, everyone around the world, it’s amazing, thank you so much for all your help.”

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society, said: “Stephanie’s achievement is just amazing. It is incredible to see her winning the gold she’s always wanted after so many years of hard work.

“MS is really unpredictable which can make it tough to manage and plan around. Stephanie’s determination at dealing with that unpredictability whilst succeeding in the sport she loves is a huge accomplishment.”