More history was made on Copacabana beach this afternoon as the maiden appearance of triathlon at a Paralympic Games came to a conclusion.

Having watched compatriot Andy Lewis claim gold on day one, Great Britain's Lauren Steadman chased her own slice of history on the second day of action in the women's PT4 class.

The 23-year-old, who competed as a swimmer in Beijing and London, made a shaky start to the race, but recovered to pick up a silver medal behind USA's Grace Norman.

After crossing the line in a time of 1:11.43, Steadman spoke to Sports Mole about the race, how its Paralympic debut has gone and what the future holds for the sport.

Congratulations Lauren! Silver medal at the Paralympic Games - can you sum up how you're feeling?

"I'm feeling really good. For me, I didn't get a medal in Beijing, made finals in London and then here I got on the podium and just had a really bad swim, it went wrong, so I'm really gutted.

"I think it probably did cost me my gold medal. But I tried not to panic, I dug deep and I came back again on the swim and had to get past everybody again, and then on the bike I just knew I had to keep pushing and pushing and, yeah, I didn't have the confidence in the lead that I normally have."

So mixed emotions for you at the moment?

"It is yeah. I mean I'm so happy to have a medal. It's amazing for me, I'm overwhelmed, but at the same time I'm gutted I made a mistake on the swim."

It's a sweltering day here, how big a role did the conditions play?

"It's boiling! Obviously I worked so hard on the swim to get back, and then on the bike, when I got onto the run and the heat was pounding down, I'd already drained myself trying to get back."

Is it even more disappointing to make a mistake during that part of the race given your background in swimming?

"Definitely. If you think about it, 25m, if I'd not made that mistake I'd have been ahead. But we'll deal with it. I'm proud that I came back and I still finished second."

Yesterday we saw Kadeena Cox make history by winning medals in two different sports at the same Games - as a two-sport athlete yourself, is that something on your radar?

"Definitely not at these Games! I love my paratriathlon and I do love to swim still, but I love my paratriathlon and I love training for triathlon."

Would you regard the sport's Paralympic debut as a success, and do you see it becoming a fixture at Games in the future?

"It definitely has been. You've seen some great performances from the boys yesterday. That was really inspiring to watch. I watched from the top of the hotel so I could see everything. Hopefully in Tokyo we're going to see a lot more.

"It's fantastic here, the atmosphere, the crowds are amazing, so many GB fans and supporters, so it's amazing. It will be a [Paralympic sport] forever now.