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News > Sport

Australia and Chile Dominate in Paralympic Swimming

  • Lakeisha Patterson, Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 25, 2021.

    Lakeisha Patterson, Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 25, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @thecgf

Published 25 August 2021
Opinion

Chilean athlete Alberto Abarza won the gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke of the S2 class with a time of 2 minutes 00.40 seconds.

During the first day of the competitions at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, the Australian swimmers achieved three paralympic medals.

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William Martin won the first gold medal in the men's S9 400 meters freestyle competition and set a new Paralympic record with 4 min 10.25 seconds.

"He looked on course to challenge the world record, but faded in the closing moments, although still had enough to hold on to the win ahead of young Frenchman Ugo Didier," commented outlet Inside the Games, adding that Australian Alexander Tuckfield achieved the bronze medal.

Australia also achieved gold medals with Lakeisha Patterson in the women's S9 400m freestyle and Rowan Crothers in the men's S10 50m freestyle final. So far, on the first day of the games, Australian teams are topping the medal standings with 10 medals, while China is in the second place with five gold medals.

On Wednesday, the Chilean swimmer Alberto Abarza won the gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke of the S2 class for the physically disabled with a time of 2 minutes 00.40 seconds. In this competition, the Brazilian Gabriel Gerardo Dos Santos achieved the silver medal and the Russian Vladimir Danilenko got the bronze medal.

Before arriving at the Tokyo games, the Chilean swimmer won three gold medals at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru. He suffers from the degenerative disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which forces him to go in a wheelchair because of his muscles' progressive loss of strength and paralysis.

Abarza's medal is Chile's second in the history of the Paralympic Games. Previously, Cristian Valenzuela won the gold medal in the 5,000-meter test at the 2012 London games.

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