By Tom Degun at the Aquatics Centre on the Olympic Park in London

heather frederiksen_ellie_simmonds_Rhiannon_Henry_06-03-12March 6 - Heather Frederiksen (pictured left) produced a sensational performance at the British Gas Swimming Championships after the four-time Paralympic medallist claimed victory against double Beijing 2008 Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds (centre) here in the 100 metres freestyle final.

The Championships here, which are serving as the trials for the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as the London 2012 swimming test event, are providing Britain's top swimmers with the chance to secure their spot at the Games and Frederiksen took the opportunity with both hands as she picked up victory ahead of Simmonds in a Paralympic qualification time of 1min 08.13sec and 932 qualification points.

Simmonds won the silver medal in 1:17.98 to claim 925 points qualification points for London 2012, while Rhiannon Henry (pictured right) also put her name in contention for nomination to the ParalympicsGB team after claiming bronze in time of 1:01.11 to claim 894 points.

However, the race belonged to Frederiksen and it marked a remarkable turnaround for her after the 26-year-old from Merseyside was given a six-month ban by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 2009 for failing a drug test at the European Championships that year and stripped of the three medals she won at the competition.

The ban came because the medication she was using for her asthma condition was over the legal limit.

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However, she has now ensured that it is under the legal limit of prescribed medication for her event and she made a successful return to competition last year by winning three gold medals at the 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin.

She has now backed it up with three medals at the British Gas Swimming Championships, including her first gold in the 100m freestyle.

"I was really pleased with that final," said Frederiksen, who had a serious accident that left her with limited use of her right arm and leg, and the need to use a wheelchair.

"The time is only just outside my PB so considering the preparation I've had coming into this competition, I'm really pleased.

"I've managed to get my Paralympic qualifications in the heats and finals so I'm really pleased with that as well.

"It's fantastic to be able to come in and do what I've done off such a lack of preparation.

"It's good to be on top of the podium and back in the mix again and it's really promising for six months' time if I get my selection."

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Meanwhile, Scotland's Sean Fraser (pictured) won the gold in the men's 100m freestyle with a strong swim the final.

The British S8 record holder, who claimed bronze at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics and silver at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, won in a time of 1:01.00 to claim 843 points.

The silver medallist was Matthew Walker in a time of 1:03.95 to give him 840 points, while the bronze went to Josef Craig in 1:04.35 to give him 824 points.

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