THE mother of Cleveland intellectually impaired swimmer Daniel Fox has paid tribute to her son's dedication after the 22-year-old won his first Commonwealth Games gold medal on Sunday.
Cleveland businesswoman Julie Fox, in Glasgow for the games, shed tears of joy watching her son win the 200metre freestyle (S14) in 1:57.89.
Although he did not beat his world record time of 1:57.16, clocked in the heats only hours before, both mother and son were delighted with the result.
"I'm a little bit disappointed but still happy," Fox said.
"I'm still No.1, still breaking records and everything couldn't be any happier."
In April, Fox broke two world records in his signature 200m freestyle event in one day at the Australian Swimming Championships at Chandler to reclaim the world title, which he lost when he picked up silver at the London Paralympics in 2012.
At Chandler, he swam a record-breaking time of 1:57.68, shaving .67sec off the world record.
Speaking to Redland City Bulletin from poolside in Glasgow, Ms Fox said she was "on cloud nine, the proudest mum in the world".
"In the early years of his schooling, his intellectual impairment caused me, as a mother, a great deal of heartache and anxiety just not knowing what his future would be," she said.
"After his achievements on Sunday, it shows that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it a motto all our family has been brought up with.
"It is such a great result for everybody, especially Daniel, who is doing what he loves.
"He is a true sportsman and works extremely hard to achieve this.
"He never gives up so everybody needs to find what they are best at and then go for it."
Ms Fox said her son's teachers, coaches and the Redland community, which had shown such compassion and appreciation, had also played a role in her son's gold medal.
After receiving his gold medal, Fox flew to Pasadena, California, for the Para PanPacs, which run from August 6 to 10.
