Paralympics, Day 10: Jessica Long Adds Epic 100 Fly Gold; Jiang Yuyan Captures 7th Gold
China began the final day of swimming at the Paris Paralympics atop the medal table and poised to add more. With a brief interlude from Jessica Long in an epic performance, that’s how the final day at Paris La Defense Arena has generally played out.
China started with wins in three of the first four events, and Long won her 18th career Paralympic gold medal in the S8 100 fly in bringing the competition to a close.
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Men’s SM10 200 individual medley
Stefano Raimondi closed an outstanding Paralympics with a fourth gold medal, going 2:10.24 to claim the IM. That Italian has also added a silver. Second in prelims, he stamped his authority on the final quickly, Australian Col Pearse a distant second in 2:12.79. Raimondi had won silver in this event in Tokyo.
Ukraine, looking to maintain second place in the medal standings, got another bronze thanks to Ihor Nimchenko. He rallied in 2:13.73, overcoming Italian Riccardo Menciotti on the final 50.
Women’s SM10 200 individual medley
Cue the Chinese domination. Zhang Meng used an outstanding breaststroke swim to surge from fifth after 100 meters to the lead. She held on with ease, going 2:26.81 to set an Asian record. She denies Bianka Pap of Hungary a second gold. Instead, she has a second silver, in 2:29.02. Zhang had been just fourth in prelims.
Belgium is officially in the medals with not a moment to spare, Tatyana Lebrun finishing third in 2:32.79 for the country’s first of the meet.
Men’s S6 100 backstroke
Add two more to the Chinese account, led by Yang Hong, who won in 1:14.31. He was fourth at the turn but delivered a finishing 50 of 38.25 seconds to overhaul countryman Wang Jingang to the wall by .85 seconds. Croatia has its first medal courtesy of Dino Sinovcic in 1:15.73.
“Silver medal is the best result from when I began preparing for this program,” Wang said. “For me, it’s the perfect result – it’s the best result I could hope for.”
Matias de Andrade, the Argentine who set the pace in prelims, finished fourth, a half-second off the podium.
Women’s S6 100 backstroke
Jiang Yuyan has been one of the stars of these Games. A seventh gold medal in a world record is a fitting coda. The Chinese teen went 1:19.44 to take down the world record by .13 seconds. She did it head-to-head with the holder, Tokyo champion Ellie Marks.
“It’s really incredible for me,” Jiang said. “I just finish each small goal, then have a rest and start again. I don’t overthink it, I just do it. The three years of preparation for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have been a strong foundation for me. It made sure that I can do well in every race. Three years of preparation gave me more confidence and experience for these Games.”
Marks added a silver medal to her account, the 10th of her career on the day she was named Team USA’s flagbearer for the Closing Ceremonies. Marks was within a second of her winning time from Tokyo in 1:20.34. Shelby Newkirk of Canada won silver in 1:22.24.
Marks had nothing but praise for the Chinese swimmer’s achievements and is happy to see her world record change hands.
“I’m so proud of her; she’s come such a long way,” Marks said of Jiang. “We got to race each other in Tokyo, and like I’ve told everybody, I’ve always just wanted to be in the pool when someone breaks my world record. She did, and she let me know when it happened – gave me a big hug. A very special moment for me.”
Men’s S8 100 butterfly
Alberto Amodeo added a second gold and third medal of these Games in a sensational race, his time of 1:02.35 finishing first in an event where four swimmers were clustered with 1.03 seconds.
The Italian was second at the wall but came home quickest in 1:02.35, passing Wu Hongliang of China on the way home. Wu hung on for silver in 1:02.61 ahead of teammate Yang Guanglong, whose 32.97 final 50 pushed him hard. Yang got bronze in 1:02.73. Li Ting was too far back, fifth at the midpoint, in finishing fourth in 1:03.38.
“Having to do a race on the last day was pretty difficult,” Amodeo said. “But it was a good race. I was always catching up. I was very behind. I knew I would be behind and I would need to catch up in the second 50 meters, but after the turn I saw (Wu) so far away and I didn’t know if it was possible. Until the last five meters it wasn’t and then I managed. I told myself, ‘These are the last few meters, then you are on vacation, just try to finish it and get a good memory to bring home.'”
Women’s S8 100 butterfly
There’s only so much that can be said about Jessica Long that hasn’t already been written. But in the 18 gold medals and 31 total Paralympic medals in her storied career, Saturday’s may have been one of the most impressive. Long was 1.1 seconds down at the midpoint, and leader Alice Tai looked closer to the world record line than to losing her grip on gold with 15 meters left. But Long’s feverish charge to the wall led her to gold in 1:10.59. It’s the fourth time she’s won this event, the others in 2008, 2012 and 2021.
“That just blew my mind,” Long said. “I hope this is a testament to how I reset. But it’s also a testament to my coach. He started working with me on fly just in June, because my back has been hurting so hard. So that was truly a shock. I told him before I went to the call room that I felt content and I was just happy with whatever happened.
“The thing that gave me the confidence was I’d done this schedule before in Tokyo. I actually swam three more events in Tokyo and finished with a gold medal. It just feels really good to defend it.”
Tai slipped to third, the bronze her fifth medal of the Games. Viktoriia Ishchiulova got past her in 1:11.62 for silver, Tai finishing in 1:13.60. Tai barely held on to bronze ahead of fellow Brit Brock Whiston by .09. Three Chinese swimmers followed.
Tai called it, “one of the silliest races I’ve ever swum,” happy to get to the wall legally as she tired.
“To get the bronze is great,” she said. “My best time this season would have won it, so there’s always bit in the back of my head like, ‘Maybe I could have done more.’ But honestly, I am tired after this week. I’ve not done big multi-event competitions since 2019 really, so I am still getting fit, ready to do those again.”
Men’s S7 50 butterfly
Andrii Trusov applied an emphatic exclamation point on an impressive and emotional performance by Ukraine with his third gold and sixth total medal. It’s a European record, too, Trusov winning in 28.75 seconds. He was within .34 of the world and Paralympic records.
His swim denies a gold medal at these Paralympics to Carlos Serrano Zarate, the Colombian leaving with three silvers and a bronze. This one came in a time of 29.08 seconds. He had been quickest in prelims.
Egor Efrosinin secured bronze, denying Evan Austin by two tenths. That leaves the American men with still just the one medal from competition at the Games.
Women’s S7 50 butterfly
Canadian Danielle Dorris dominated the field to win gold in 33.62, the event in which she’s the reigning champion and world record holder. It’s her third career medal and first of these Games.
“I’m ecstatic,” Dorris said. “Coming in, I kind of knew I was going to perform as well if I did, and I’m very happy with the results.”
Dorris was well ahead of American Mallory Weggemann, who secured silver in 34.94.
“This race is a race that I’ve always loved, so to be on the podium tonight, again, it’s an honor,” Weggemann said. “To know I get to do that and look under the stands and see my husband and our daughter and my coach and my parents, my sister and our community, and do so representing Team USA, it’s not lost on me that I’m still here doing it.”
Giulia Terzi of Italy went 35.40 for her fourth bronze medal of the Games. It makes 10 between her and her partner Raimondi. Tess Routliffe was less than a second from a double Canadian podium, finishing fourth. The other American in the race, Julia Gaffney, finished sixth.
Men’s S4 50 backstroke
As the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, Roman Zhdanov was always the man to beat. A prelims session in which four swimmers got within 0.91 seconds of him seemed to posit intrigue for the final.
Zhdanov made sure it didn’t, roaring away to secure gold in 42.30. He held off a charge by Angel de Jesus Camacho, who took silver in 42.70 for his third medal of the games.
The winning time is slower than the 40.99 he used to win in Tokyo, a world record. Zhdanov has three medals (two of them gold) at these Games and eight career medals.
Bronze went to Czechia’s Arnost Petracek in 43.96. He just held off Cameron Leslie of New Zealand, who was off the podium by .24 seconds. Leslie had been second to Zhdanov in prelims.
Women’s S4 50 backstroke
Alexandra Stamatopoulou earned the first female medal for Greece at this year’s Games, going 50.12 seconds to outlast the field. She had won bronze three years ago.
She was 1.28 clear of Germany’s Gina Boettcher, who got second in 51.40. Bronze went to Brazil’s Lidia Vieira da Cruz in 52.00.
Men’s S12 100 butterfly
After a silver and two bronze medals in Tokyo, it’s double gold delight for Stephen Clegg in Paris.
The British swimmer went 57.49 to win in sensational fashion, his second gold medal of the Paralympics. Clegg was third at the wall, .13 seconds behind the pace set by Azerbaijan’s Raman Salei. But Clegg’s final 50 split of 31.11 was the fastest in the field to get him home .43 seconds ahead of Dzmitry Salei, Raman’s older brother (a Belorussian swimming as a Neutral Paralympic Athlete) and Raman in bronze position in 58.13.
The dash for the wall was wild, with the top five separated by .82 seconds. Kylian Portal was on the wrong side of the touch, the Frenchman .04 behind Raman Salei in fourth, that close to a fifth medal of the Games. Ukraine’s Yaroslav Denysenko rallied on the final 50 from seventh to fifth in 58.31 in an outside lane but fell .18 away from the medals.
Women’s S11 100 freestyle
Lisette Bruinsma stated her intent in the morning by setting a Paralympic record.
Daria Lukianenko responded with a world record at night.
In one of the most intriguing battles of the final night, one that included five holdovers from the Tokyo Olympic final, Lukianenko took Bruinsma’s Paralympic and world records plus gold in one fell swoop, going 1:04.88 in a thrilling final.
Bruinsma got silver in 1:05.95, while Zhang Xioatong earned China another bronze in 1:06.84.
Bruinsma had set the pace in prelims at 1:05.23, downing the Paralympic mark. Lukianenko was third, 2.5 seconds back. But Lukianenko, swimming under the NPA banner, brought the speed in the final to be the first S11 woman under 1:05. It’s the third gold and fifth medal for the 22-year-old in Paris.
Bruinsma, the Dutch swimmer who won the 400 free in Paris, has a second medal of these games and a ninth all-time.
The podium had no room for Li Guizhi, the Tokyo champion, who was sixth. Ditto Tokyo bronze medalist Cai Liwen of China, who finished .86 shy of Zhang’s bronze time. Maryna Piddubna of Ukraine improved a spot from sixth in Tokyo to fifth. American Anastasia Pagonis, who was third in prelims, finished seventh in 1:09.31. She’ll leave Paris without a medal after two golds in Tokyo.
Men’s S3 200 freestyle
Turkey’s first gold medal came at the last possible juncture, with Umut Unlu getting to the top step for his country. He went 3:19.23 to just survive a push on the last 50 by reigning Paralympic champ Denys Ostapchenko. The Ukrainian finished second in 3:19.76, his fourth medal of the Games. With countryman Serhii Palamarchuk, who was eighth in Tokyo, getting bronze in 3:33.04, Ukraine is up to 40 total medals, securing second on the overall table behind China.
Diego Lopez Diaz, the silver medalist in Tokyo, was fourth.
Women’s SM5 200 individual medley
It’s a fitting for China’s dominance at these Games that it should end with a podium sweep.
The 22nd Chinese gold medal of these Games belongs to He Shenggao, with her time of 3:17.99. The 53rd and 54th total medals went to Lu Dong, just behind in 3:18.47, and Cheng Jiao in 3:6.33. Both totals are guaranteed to top the table, a result that hasn’t been in much doubt for days.
Italy’s Monica Boggioni finished fourth, 10 seconds behind Cheng.
Mixed 400 free relay 34 points
Australia earned gold in the mixed 400 medley relay in a Paralympic record.
Jesse Aungles, Timothy Hodge, Emily Beecroft and Alexa Leary got to the wall in 4:27.08.
The Netherlands finished with the silver as Olivier van de Voort, Chantalle Zijderveld, Florianne Bultje and Thijs van Hofweegen finished in 4:28.07.
Spain’s Nuria Marques Soto, Oscar Salguero Galisteo, Inigo Llopis Sanz and Sarai Gascon took the bronze in 4:29.39.