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BEIJING, China, September 13. TODAY witnessed the largest one-day assault on the world record books at the Paralympics thus far. By the end of the day, 14 world record were rewritten.
Yang Bozun of China opened the day with a pair of world-record swims. First, he clocked a time of 1:08.40 during prelims of the men's 100 back – S11, before capturing his first gold of the meet with a time of 1:07.74 to lower his standard. It was the first gold for Yang after earned three other individual silver medals. Damian Pietrasik of Poland took silver in 1:08.81, while Viktor Smyrnov of Ukraine placed third in 1:09.41.
Alexander Nevolin-Svetov of Russia followed suit when he downed the world record twice in the men's 100 back – S12. First, he touched in 1:00.78 in prelims before becoming the first in the class to break 1:00 with a 59.37 for gold. The win gave Nevolin-Svetov a full set of gold, silver and bronze after winning silver (200 IM) and bronze (100 free) previously. Sergii Klippert of Ukraine won his third individual medal with a time of 1:00.31 for second, while teammate Maksym Veraksa collected his fourth medal with a third-place 1:02.08.
Xu Qing of China also twice dropped a world record in the men's 50 fly – S6. First, he posted a time of 31.89 during prelims before snagging gold at night with a 30.79. Kyosuke Oyama of Japan finished second in 31.01, while Sascha Kindred of Great Britain placed third in 32.49.
Jiang Fuying of China won her first individual gold of the meet with a world-record time of 38.44 in the women's 50 fly – S6. Anastasia Diodorova of Russia took silver in 39.93, while Olena Akopyan snared her second medal with a third-place 40.72.
Tian Rong of China took his second individual medal with a gold when he punched the wall in a world-record time of 30.37 in the men's 50 fly – S7 after setting the standard with a 31.09 during prelims. Matt Walker of Great Britain finished second in 32.24, while Pei Mang of China placed third in 32.47.
Huang Min finally stopped the Erin Popovich steamroller when she recorded a pair of world records in the women's 50 fly – S7. Huang hit the wall in 34.60 during prelims before touching in 34.47 for the record at night. The win was Huang's first of the meet, and third individual medal overall. Popovich, meanwhile, had been going for her fifth gold of the meet, but settled for silver in 37.87. Veronica Almeida of Brazil rounded out the podium in 38.49.
Matthew Cowdrey of Australia, the reigning Swimming World Disabled Male Swimmer of the Year, surfaced triumphant from one of the most competitive races of the meet. Cowdrey registered a world record 1:03.34 in the men's 100 back – S9, lowering the standard of 1:03.47 set by Jarrett Perry of the U.S. during prelims. The win gave Cowdrey his third individual gold and fifth overall. Guo Zhi of China (1:03.59) and Perry (1:03.66) gave Cowdrey a serious run for his money.
Stephanie Dixon of Canada lowered her world record in the women's 100 back – S9 with a time of 1:09.30. She previously set the record with a 1:09.61 back in 2006. The win gave Dixon her first individual gold of the meet and fourth medal overall. Elizabeth Stone of the U.S. picked up silver in 1:11.16, beating Australia's Ellie Cole (1:11.87) down the stretch.
During prelims, Justin Zook of the U.S. wiped out the world record in the men's 100 back – S10 with a time of 1:01.15. At night, he had nearly more than he could handle as he touched out Michael Anderson of Australia, 1:01.29 to 1:01.47, for gold. Estonia's Kardo Ploomipuu placed third in 1:03.37.
The excitement in the Water Cube went to another level as New Zealand's Sophie Pascoe and South Africa's Shireen Sapiro put on a show. While Pascoe set the world record with a 1:11.26 during prelims, she couldn't shake Sapiro at night as the duo recorded matching times of 1:10.57 to share the global standard. The win was Pascoe's third individual gold and fourth medal overall, while Sapiro claimed her first medal of the meet. Spain's Esther Morales completed the top three in 1:13.77.
Oleksii Fedyna of Ukraine downed one of the longest standing records in any book in the men's 100 breast – SB13. En route to his third individual medal, and second of the gold variety, Fedyna clocked a 1:04.63 to crush the 1:08.12 set by Noel Pedersen of Norway all the way back in 1992. Daniel Sharp of New Zealand finished second in 1:08.73, while Uladzimir Izotau of Belarus placed third in 1:08.90.
Georgios Kapellakis of Greece followed in the men's 50 free – S2 with a time of 1:04.85. The win gave him a full set of medals, while Dmitry Kokarev of Russia took second in 1:05.15. Jim Anderson of Great Britain scored bronze in 1:06.09.
Ukraine's Dmytro Vynohradets' earned his third individual medal and second gold with a world-record time of 42.60 in the men's 50 free – S3. The swim eclipsed the 2004 standard of 45.65 set by Martin Kovar of the Czech Republic. Du Jianping of China finished second in 44.19, while Byeong-Eon Min took third in 45.75.
Mexico's Patricia Valle concluded the day with a winning effort of 57.05 in the women's 50 free – S3. Singapore's Pin Xiu Yip finished second in 57.43, while Fran Williamson of Great Britain touched third in 1:04.22.