The 19-year-old, who was born in Sweden without her left hand and moved to Britain at the age of four, showed superb power as she swam close to her British record to take gold with a time of 29.30sec and pick up a total of 974 points for the Paralympics.

The silver medal went to Paralympic champion Heather Frederiksen, who finished in a time of 32.12 to take 917 points, while Stephanie Millward won the bronze in 30.10 to take 898 points.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Watkin after taking victory despite the competitive field.

"I've been waiting for it as well – I did the backstroke yesterday and the heats this morning and neither of them went to plan and I really wanted it tonight so I'm really pleased.

"That race gives me so much confidence now for the season.

"It's the fastest I've been since the World Championships in 2010 so just knowing that finally I'm back up at that level is great."


Meanwhile, world champion Matt Walker (pictured) swam to victory in the men's 50m freestyle as he secured gold in 28.37 to take a total of 928 points.

The 33-year-old from Stockport finished well ahead of his rivals and will now target his fourth Paralympic gold in as many Games after claiming victory at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Sean Fraser won the silver in a time of 28.36 with a total of 811 points, while bronze went to Jonathan Fox with a total of 804 in 29.76.

"It was a great swim, close to my personal best," Walker said.

"It's been a topsy turvy year so far and I gave it the best I could."

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