The 2013 season is only a few weeks old but Nanoose Bay's Michelle Stilwell has already resumed her assault on the record books.
This week in Australia's Summer Down Under Series, Stilwell, recently acclaimed as the B.C. Liberal Party candidate in Parksville Qualicum Beach for the May provincial election, improved her world record mark in the T52 classification wheelchair 200-metres to 33.19 seconds in Canberra, Australia.
Stilwell's previous world record in the event stood at 33.58 seconds, a mark she set on May 19, 2012.
Following the Canberra competition, the series will shift today to the Sydney Track Meet, then finishes up on Saturday with the Oz Day 10 km race.
The City of Parksville dedicated September 23, 2012 as Michelle Stilwell Day after she returned from the London Paralympics with a gold and silver medal from the 200-metre and 100-metre wheelchair sprints, respectively. She is also the first person in Parksville's history to be awarded a key to the city.
In total, Stilwell has four gold medals and one silver from three Paralympics Games, and five gold and two silver from world championship events.