Long wins 17th gold medal, world records fall in women's 100 m freestyle S6/S9

PARALYMPIC SUMMER GAMES 2024

The 2024 Paralympic Games are slowly coming to a close and the final events of the competition are just around the corner. But there is still plenty of time to catch all the Paralympic action, with Day 7 packed with fast-paced swimming events.

Men’s 100 m freestyle – S12

Results:

Ukraine achieved a one-two finish as Yaroslav Denysenko beat world and Paralympic record holder Maksym Veraksa to win gold. Denysenko clocked 53.11 to easily beat the field, but Veraksa was locked in a close battle for the silver medal with Raman Salei. In the end, the two swimmers were separated by just 0.01 seconds, with Veraksa taking silver with a time of 53.64 seconds.

100 m freestyle, women – S12

• World record: Oxana Savchenko (Russia) – 58.41
• Paralympic record: Oxana Savchenko (Russia) – 58.41

Results:

Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago continued a strong competition and won another medal, taking gold in a time of 59.30, making her the only swimmer in the field to run under 1:00. Behind her, Ukraine claimed its third medal of the session, with Anna Stetsenko posting a time of 1:00.39, while Japan's Ayano Tsujichi took the bronze medal with a time of 1:01.05.

Men's 200m Individual Medley – SM14

• World record: Nicholas Bennett (Canada) – 2:05.97
• Paralympic record: Reece Dunn (Great Britain) – 2:08.02

Results:

World record holder Nicholas Bennett surprised his record here and almost beat his personal best of 2:05.97. However, he missed out by a tenth of a second and still broke the Paralympic record with 2:06.05 to win gold. In Great Britain, Rhys Darbey took the silver medal with 2:08.61, finishing just ahead of Australian Ricky Betar. With his time of 2:08.69, Betar set a new Oceania record in this discipline.

Women’s 200 m individual medley – SM14

• World record: Valeriia Shabalina (NPA) – 2:18.37
• Paralympic record: Bethany Furth (Great Britain) – 2:19.55

Results:

Neutral athlete Valeriia Shabalina was first to the wall and won gold with a final time of 2:22.40, followed by Britain's Poppy Maskill (2:23.93). From there, Japan's Aira Kinoshita took the bronze medal with a time of 2:25.96, beating the rest of the field.

Men’s 400m Freestyle – S8

• World record: Oliver Hynd (Great Britain) – 4:19.74
• Paralympic record: Oliver Hynd (Great Britain) – 4:21.89

Results:

Italian star Alberto Amodeo outran the charging Canadian Reid Maxwell to secure the win with a time of 4:23.23. Although he did not reach the gold medal, Maxwell broke the American record in the event with a time of 4:23.90 and won silver ahead of Andrei Nikolaev (4:24.00).

400 m freestyle, women – S8

• World record: Lakesisha Patterson (Australia) – 4:40.33
• Paralympic record: Lakesisha Patterson (Australia) – 4:40.33

Results:

Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and that Jessica Long will find her way to the Paralympic podium. Long added her 17th Paralympic gold medal to her collection in dominant fashion, winning the S8 400m freestyle by nearly 4 seconds. In her career, Long has made the podium at every Paralympics since her debut in 2004, and won gold three more times: in 2004, 2008, and 2012. She won silver in both 2016 and 2021, finishing only behind fellow American Morgan Stickney. With her 30 Paralympic medals and 17 gold medals, Long is now the sixth most decorated Paralympian of all time in all sports.

Despite her great time of 4:52.24, Britain's Alice Tai took the silver medal, well ahead of bronze medalist Xenia Francesca Palazzo. Zheng Tingting missed the podium by just a tenth of a second and broke the Asian record in this race, clocking a time of 5:00.25.

50 m breaststroke, men – SB2

• World record: Huang Wenpan (China) – 50.65
• Paralympic record: Huang Wenpan (China) – 50.65

Results:

Mexican Arnulfo Castorena won the race comfortably, crossing the finish line three seconds ahead of his opponents with a time of 59.41 seconds. But history was made by silver medalist Ismail Barlov, who won Bosnia and Herzegovina's first Paralympic medal in swimming at the age of 13. Before Barlov's swimming, the country had won only six medals since its first Paralympic Games appearance in 1996, all in sitting volleyball, but now it adds a seventh medal in a new discipline.

50 m Breaststroke Women – SB3

• World record: Cheng Jiao (China) – 52.65
• Paralympic record: Monica Bogioni (Italy) – 53.70

Results:

Italy's Monica Boggioni beat her own Paralympic record by improving her previous best time of 53.70 seconds to 53.25 seconds, almost half a second less. Although she did not equal the world record, she still dominated the race and won by over 5 seconds. Behind Boggioni, Brazil's Patricia Pereira dos Santos beat Spain's Marta Fernandez Infante to take silver with swimming times of 58.31 and 58.63 respectively.

50 m freestyle, men – S7

Results:

Ukraine's Andrii Trusov delivered an impressive performance, surpassing his own world and Paralympic records in the process. Trusov reached the wall in a time of 26.38, beating his own world record of 27.07 by over half a second en route to the gold medal. Behind Trusov, Colombian Carlos Daniel Serrano Zerate clocked a time of 27.60 to take the silver medal, while neutral athlete Egor Eforsinin finished third (28.02).

In seventh place, South African Christian Sadie set a new African record in this discipline by touching the wall in a time of 28.75.

100 m freestyle, women – S7

• S7 World Record: Jacqueline Freney (Australia) – 1:08.03
• S7 Paralympic Record: Giulia Terzi (Italy) – 1:09.21
• S6 World Record: Jiang Yuyan (China) – 1:10.86
• S6 Paralympic Record: Ellie Marks (USA) – 1:10.98

Results:

After a dominant performance in the 50m freestyle earlier in the competition, China's Jiang Yuyan continued her world record streak, breaking the S6 world record in a time of 1:09.68 en route to gold in the S7 class. Yuyan's performance beat her previous world record of 1:10.86 by over a second. Behind her, Morgan Stickney won silver in a time of 1:10.11, finishing ahead of Italy's Giulia Terzi (1:10.43).

100 m freestyle, women – S9

Results:

Australia's Alexa Leary continued her world record streak, beating her own world and Paralympic record in the S9 100m freestyle by 0.07 seconds. Leary finished with a time of 59.53 seconds, erasing her previous records and becoming the only swimmer in the field to go under a minute. After winning her first Paralympic gold a day ago, Christie Raleigh-Crossley added silver to her collection, swimming an American record of 1:00.18. Brazil's Mariana Ribeiro took third place with a time of 1:02.22.

Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 49 points

• World record: Ukraine – 3:51.85
• Paralympic record: Russian Paralympic Committee – 3:53.79

Results:

• • Gold: Ukraine – 3:53.84
  • Silver: Brazil – 3:56.94
  • Bronze: Spain – 3:57.95

Ukraine left little doubt that they would emerge victorious, taking the Paralympic gold medal by 3 seconds. The team of Maryna Piddubna, Oleksii Virchenko, Anna Stetsenko and Yaroslav Denysenko clocked a total time of 3:53.84. Behind them, Brazil put in a great performance, battling for silver in 3:56.94, while holding off a charging Spanish team (3:57.95).

The team from Japan finished in 6th place, setting a new Asian record with a time of 4:07.52.