Americans Anastasia Pagonis, Gia Pergolini Set World Records on Night 2 of Paralympics Prelims
Americans Anastasia Pagonis and Gia Pergolini set world records Wednesday night, accounting for two of the world marks set on the second night of swimming at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Pagonis will be the top seed in the women’s S11 400 freestyle final by nearly 12 seconds. She blasted the field to win her heat in 4:58.40, unseating the world record set in 2019 by Lisette Bruinsma of the Netherlands at 5:02.19. Bruinsma is the second seed in the final at 5:10.33.
WORLD RECORD!
17-year-old Anastasia Pagonis SMASHED the world record in her women’s 400m freestyle S11 heat.@TeamUSA x #TokyoParalympics
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? NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/XzisW49ThL— #TokyoParalympics (@NBCOlympics) August 26, 2021
Pagonis also downed the Paralympic record set in 2012 by Germany’s Daniela Schulte at 5:11.32. Bruinsma, who won the first heat of two, briefly held the Paralympic record.
In the next event, Pergolini destroyed the women’s S13 100 backstroke. She won the second heat of two in 1:05.05, downing the world mark set in May by Carlotta Gilli of Italy in 1:05.56.
.@TeamUSA‘s Gia Pergolini is putting on a show in Tokyo!
The 17-year-old qualifies for the women’s 100m backstroke S13 final in WORLD RECORD fashion. #TokyoParalympics
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? NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/HagZLAlmd2— #TokyoParalympics (@NBCOlympics) August 26, 2021
It sets up what should be a thrilling S13 100 back final. Australia’s Katja Dedekind set the Paralympic record in the first heat, clocking in at 1:07.38 to down the mark set in Rio by Anna Stetsenko of Ukraine (1:08.30). Gilli was also under that mark in 1:08.00. Stetsenko finished 10th in 1:10.89, missing out on the final.
Women set all four world records on the evening. Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko was first in the S6 200 individual medley with a time of 2:56.90. The undercuts the record set by Maisie Summers-Newtown of Great Britain in 2019 at 2:57.24.
Meresheko is the top seed in the final, just a half second ahead of American record-holder Elizabeth Marks in 2:57.42. Summers-Newtown is lurking in third at 3:00.15. (Marks also set the American record in the SM6 50 fly off the front of that IM.)
A WORLD RECORD time for Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko in a heat of the women’s 200m IM SM6!@TeamUSA‘s @SGTMarks and @SophiaHerzog have both advanced to the final. #TokyoParalympics
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? NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/VqZLwp0GWq— #TokyoParalympics (@NBCOlympics) August 26, 2021
The Netherlands’ Chantalle Zijderveld was seventh tenths faster than her own world record in the women’s S9 100 breaststroke to clock in at 1:11.23. That’s more than four seconds faster than the winning time from the Rio Olympics, turned in by her countrywoman Lisa Kruger, who will occupy the second seed in the final. Kruger briefly held the Paralympic record at 1:13.83.
Australia’s Rachel Watson set a Paralympic record in the women’s S4 100 freestyle in 1:35.27, downing a record that had stood since the Atlanta Games in 1996 (Kay Espenhayn of Germany, at 1:37.58). Watson missed out on the final in the event, which combines the S5 and S4 classes. S5 world-record holder Tully Kearney of Great Britain, who set the world record Wednesday night off the front of the S5 200 free in which she won gold, is the top seed in that final.
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