Valeriia Shabalina was the first Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) athlete to win gold at Tokyo 2020, doing so in the women's S14 100-metre butterfly. She followed it up with a further two triumphs in the women's S14 200m freestyle and the SM14 200m individual medley.

In her first event at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, a sensational performance saw Shabalina break her own world record with a time of 1min 3.59sec in the final, beating her previous best of 1:03.68 set at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London.

The swimmer from Chelyabinsk dominated the race, beating Australia's runner-up Paige Leonhardt by 1.89sec, despite the silver medallist having the quickest reaction time of the eight finalists.

It topped a brilliant morning for Shabalina, who had recorded the fastest time in qualifying for the final, with 1:05.37 seeing her stave off Leonhardt to win the second heat.

This was Shabalina's first Paralympic medal, but she did not have to wait long for her second, triumphing in the S14 200m freestyle final.

Her time of 2:03.71 beat Britain's world and Paralympic record holder Bethany Firth by 0.28 seconds and secured the RPC's seventh gold of Tokyo 2020 and its fifth in the pool.

The Para-swimmer had qualified for the final by winning the second heat in 2:09.55.

Shabalina's third gold arrived in the SM14 200m individual medley, with her time of 2:20.99 beating the reigning champion and Paralympic record holder Firth by 2.20 seconds.

She had enjoyed success at a number of notable events that had her well positioned going into Tokyo 2020.

Valeriia Shabalina, centre, beat nearest challenger Paige Leonhardt by 1.89 seconds in the women's S14 100m butterfly final ©Getty Images
Valeriia Shabalina, centre, beat nearest challenger Paige Leonhardt by 1.89 seconds in the women's S14 100m butterfly final ©Getty Images

Shabalina is the reigning world champion in each of the three events she won at Tokyo 2020, triumphing in all three at London in 2019.

She also won two silvers in the S14 100m backstroke and S14 4x100m freestyle relay at the same World Championships, as well as a bronze in the S14 100m breaststroke.

At the Glasgow World Championships in 2015, Shabalina won golds in the SM14 200m individual medley and S14 200m freestyle, as well as silvers in the S14 100m backstroke and SB14 100m breaststroke.

The S14, SB14 and SM14 category swimming events are for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

Shabalina also won 10 gold medals at the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS) Global Games in Brisbane in 2019, as well as three silvers and one bronze, and 11 golds at the INAS European Swimming Championships at Villejuif in France in 2018.

She had made her international debut at the World Para Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven in 2014, winning three golds which she retained at Funchal in Portugal in 2016.

Her time of 2:18.37 at Funchal remains a world record in the SM14 200m individual medley.

Shabalina also holds the title of Honoured Master of Sport in the Russian Federation.