Montreal’s Aurélie Rivard clinched a bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final at the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California. Rivard, a 13-time Paralympic medalist, secured third place in a competitive field that included athletes from the S6-11 and S13 classifications. Known for her prowess in the S10 400 free, Rivard, aged 30 from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, tallied 933 points with a finishing time of 4:37.04, coming in second.
The gold in the event went to Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson, an S9 swimmer, who scored 986 points by clocking 4:40.35. Despite American Ali Truwit, an S10 swimmer, touching the wall first at 4:31.52, she earned 971 points, settling for silver. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, finished in eighth place with 848 points, touching the wall in 4:47.89.
The point system is based on a swimmer’s proximity to the world record standard for their classification. Rivard, who recently returned to international competition after a hiatus, expressed her mixed emotions post-race, stating it as her favorite event where she believes there is room for improvement.
In other Canadian performances, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, British Columbia, claimed fourth place in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB4-6, 8-9, 11, 13-14 final, witnessing Japan’s Naohide Yamaguchi setting a world record with a time of 1:02.38.
Reid Maxwell from St. Albert, Alberta, secured fifth place in the men’s 400m freestyle S6-9, S11, S13 category. The Day 3 preliminaries are scheduled to commence on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the final session at 8:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships can be streamed on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
