Prelims of day nine of the 2016 Paralympic Games saw a new World Record being set by Cheng Jiao and multiple Paralympic Records.
Men’s 100 Free–S7
Great Britain’s Jonathan Fox kickstarted day nine with a top qualifying time of 1:03.17 in the men’s 100 free S7.
Carlos Serrano Zarate of Colombia pegged a close second with a time of 1:03.80, while China’s Pan Shiyun was third with a 1:04.51.
Australia’s Matthew Levy finished fourth overall with a 1:04.90, ahead of Germany’s Tobias Pollap’s 1:05.73.
Great Britain’s Michael Jones took sixth with a 1:06.06, followed by the Ukrainian duo of Marian Kvasnytsia (1:06.76) and ievgenii Bogodaiko (1:07.36).
Women’s 100 Free–S7
McKenzie Coan of the USA led prelims of the women’s 100 free S7 with a qualifying time of 1:09.74.
Second went to Germany’s Denise Grahl and her time of 1:13.43, followed closely by China’s Huang Yajing and her time of 1:13.50.
Susannah Rodgers posted a 1:13.96 to return as the fourth place seed, while the USA’s Cortney Jordan finished fifth in prelims with a 1:14.13.
China’s Ke Liting (1:15.15), Canada’s Tess Routliffe (1:15.70), and Germany’s Verena Schott (1:18.57) finished sixth through eighth.
Men’s 100 Back–S9
Poland’s Patryk Biskup and Great Britain’s James Crisp posted matching times of 1:05.00 from separate heats to both return as the first place seeds in tonight’s final of the men’s 100 back S9.
China’s Liu Xiaobing was a close third with a qualifying time of 1:05.13.
Tamas Toth of Hungary finished fourth in prelims with a 1:05.47, just ahead of the Australian duo of Brenden Hall (1:05.56) and Timothy Hodge (1:05.99).
New Zealand’s Jesse Reynolds took seventh with a 1:06.34, while Logan Powell of Australia was eighth with a 1:06.37.
Women’s 100 Back–S9
The women’s 100 back S9 prelims were highlighted by a tie for first between Australia’s Ellie Cole, the current World Record holder, and Spain’s Nuria Marques Soto. The two delivered matching times of 1:11.22 from separate heats to return as the first place seeds.
The USA’s Hannah Aspden finished a close third with a time of 1:11.78.
Amy Marren of Great Britain and Wang Jiexin of China qualified with close times of 1:14.06 and 1:14.14 respectively.
The USA’s Elizabeth Smith (1:15.06), Ireland’s Ellen Keane (1:15.44), and New Zealand’s Tupou Neiufi (1:15.68) rounded out the top eight.
Men’s 50 Free–S8
China’s Wang Yinan led a tight prelims field in the men’s 50 free S8 posting the top time at a 26.80.
Ukraine’s Iurii Bozhynskyi was a close second with a 26.95, while third went to China’s Song Maodang (27.29).
Bohdan Hrynenko of Ukraine finished fourth with a 27.35, followed closely by Great Britain’s Josef Craig and his time of 27.36.
France’s Charles Rozoy (27.44), China’s Yang Guanglong (27.65), and Canada’s Zack McCallister (27.90) completed the top eight qualifiers.
Women’s 50 Free–S8
Stephanie Millward of Great Britain flirted with a new World Record in prelims of the women’s 50 free S8, stopping the clock at a 30.82 for a new Paralympic Record. The current World Record sits at a 30.13, set in 2014 by Australia’s Maddison Elliot.
Elliot, meanwhile, claimed a close second place seed with a 30.83.
China’s Jiang Shengnan and Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson posted close times of 30.89 and 30.97 to return as the third and fourth place seeds.
Great Britain’s Stephanie Slater (31.17), Canada’s Morgan Bird (31.49), China’s Jin Xiaoqin (31.70), and Ukraine’s Kateryna Istomina (32.06) finished fifth through eighth.
Men’s 50 Back–S4
The Czech Republic’s Arnost Petracek dashed ahead of the competition in prelims of the men’s 50 back S4, posting the top time of the morning at a 43.69.
China’s Liu Yuntao kept a tight race with Mexico’s Jesus Hernandez Hernandez finishing a slim .05 seconds apart. Liu took second with a 44.42, while Hernandez settled for third with a 44.49.
Mexican teammates Juan Reyes and Gustavo Sanchez Martinez finished fourth and fifth with times of 45.96 and 47.95 respectively.
The Czech Republic’s Jan Povysil (48.00), Brazil’s Ronystony Cordeiro (49.07), and Italy’s Efrem Morelli (49.75) were sixth through eighth.
Women’s 50 Back–S4
Cheng Jiao of China obliterated the previous World and Paralympic Records in prelims of the women’s 50 back S4, stopping the clock at a 47.68. The previous World Record sat at a 51.48 set in 1996 by Germany’s Kay Espenhayn.
Ukraine’s Mariia Lafina claimed the second place seed with a 51.62, followed closely by China’s Deng Yue and her time of 51.94.
Maryna Verbova of Ukraine took fourth with a 53.38, while fifth went to Brazil’s Edenia Garcia’s 54.59.
Mexico’s Nely Miranda Herrera (56.05), Italy’s Arjola Trimi (57.09), and Israel’s Sonja Sigurdardottir (1:01.65) completed the top eight qualifiers.
Men’s 200 IM–SM11
Spain’s Israel Oliver took first in prelims of the men’s 200 IM SM11, stopping the clock at a 2:27.67.
Ukraine’s Viktor Smyrnov finished second in prelims with a time of 2:31.78, while the third place seed went to Belarus’ Hryhory Zudzilau’s 2:34.53.
The Chinese duo of Lou Chenquan and Yang Bozun took fourth and fifth with times of 2:34.66 and 2:35.11 respectively.
Japan’s Keiichi Kimura (2:36.31), the USA’s Tharon Drake (2:37.93), and Ukraine’s Oleksandr Mashchenko (2:40.39) rounded out the top eight.
Women’s 200 IM–SM11
Liesette Bruinsma of The Netherlands claimed the first place seed in prelims of the women’s 200 IM SM11 with a time of 2:54.70.
Finishing close behind were China’s Xie Qing and Sweden’s Maja Reichard with times of 2:55.75 and 2:55.80 respectively.
Estonia’s Elisabeth Egel took fourth in prelims with a 2:56.64, while fifth went to New Zealand’s Mary Fisher (3:00.69).
Germany’s Daniela Schulte finished sixth with a 3:00.74, ahead of the Ukrainian duo of Maryna Piddubna (3:00.75) and Yana Berezhna (3:08.50).
Men’s 100 Free–S13
Boki Ihar of Belarus took down the previous Paralympic Record in the men’s 100 free S13, setting the new bar ta a 51.45. Ihar currently holds the World Record at a 50.85, which he set in 2015 while in Glasgow.
The Ukrainian duo of Maksym Veraksa and Iaroslav Denysenko claimed the second and third place seed with times of 53.18 and 53.41 respectively.
Carlos Farrenberg of Brazil returns as the fourth place seed with a 53.63, while Ukraine’s Sergii Klippert was fifth with a 53.69.
Azerbaijan’s Dzmitry Salei (53.82), Uzbekistan’s Muzaffar Tursunkhujaev (53.85), and Australia’s Braedan Jason (53.90) finished sixth through eighth.
Women’s 100 Free–S13
Great Britain’s Hannah Russell squeezed under the one-minute mark in the women’s 100 free S13 preliminaries with a sizzling 59.99 to return as tonight’s top seed.
Anna Stetsenko of Ukraine, the current World Record holder in this event, turned in a time of 1:00.40 for the second place seed, while Uzbekistan’s Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova was third with a 1:01.07.
The USA’s Rebecca Meyers took fourth with a 1:01.35, followed by a tie for fifth between Germany’s Naomi Maike Schnittger and Uzbekistan’s Fotimakhon Amilova. The duo stopped the clock simultaneously at a 1:01.78.
Italy’s Alessia Berra (1:02.29) and Uzbekistan’s Muslima Odilova (1:02.45) were seventh and eighth.
Men’s 50 Back–S5
Daniel Dias of Brazil delivered the top time in prelims of the men’s 50 back S5, posting a final time of 36.46.
Great Britain’s Andrew Mullen claimed second with a time of 37.77, while Vietnam’s Thanh Tung Vo took third in prelims with a 39.62.
Zsolt Vereczkei of Hungary was fourth in prelims with a 40.23, followed closely by Turkey’s Beytullah Eroglu’s 40.57.
Mexico’s Diaz Diego Lopez (40.73), New Zealand’s Cameron Leslie (41.30), and Italy’s Andrea Massussi (43.82) rounded out the top eight.
Women’s 50 Back–S5
Prelims of the women’s 50 back S5 was highlighted by a race to the finish between Spain’s Teresa Perales and the Czech Republic’s Bela Trebinova. Perales stopped the clock a shy .01 seconds ahead of Trebinova to qualify first with a 44.48. Trebinova returns tonight as the second seed with a 44.49.
Japan’s Mayumi Narita turned in a time of 46.74 for the third place seed, while fourth went to China’s Zhang Li (48.30).
The USA’s Alyssa Gialamas (48.65), Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung (49.37), Belarus’ Natallia Shavel (50.36), and France’s Anita Fatis (50.93) completed the top eight qualifiers.
Men’s 150 IM–SM3
Dmytro Vynohradets’ of Ukraine cruised ahead of the competition in prelims of the men’s 150 IM S11, finishing more than twelve seconds ahead of the competition with a time of 2:46.04. With the World Record sitting at a 2:43.14 Vyrnohradets’ has put himself in a good position to challenge it.
The Chinese trio of Li Tingshen (2:58.54), Huang Wenpan (2:59.23) and Du Jianping (2:59.45) qualified second through fourth for tonight’s finals, all posting times within one second of each other.
Thailand’s Somchai Doungkaew turned in a 3:02.73 for fifth, followed by Mexico’s Arnulfo Castorena’s 3:12.70
Sweden’s Mikael Fredriksson (3:24.81) and Mexico’s Cristopher Tronco (3:37.08) finished seventh and eighth respectively.