Canada’s swimmer Aurélie Rivard secured a bronze medal during the second day of the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California. The 13-time Paralympic medalist finished third in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final, competing against athletes from the S6-11 and S13 classifications. Rivard, a three-time Paralympic champion in the S10 400 free category, earned 933 points by clocking in at 4 minutes 37.04 seconds.
Lakeisha Patterson of Australia clinched the gold medal with 986 points in the S9 category, finishing in 4:40.35. Meanwhile, American Ali Truwit, competing in the S10 category, touched the wall first in 4:31.52 but accumulated 971 points. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, placed eighth with 848 points after finishing in 4:47.89.
Points at the championships are determined based on the proximity of a swimmer’s time to the designated world record standard for their specific classification. Rivard, expressing her excitement after returning to international competition following a year away, emphasized the significance of the race and her continuous pursuit of improvement.
In other Canadian results, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, British Columbia, secured fourth place in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB4-6, 8-9, 11, 13-14 final, where Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan set a world record with a time of 1:02.38. Reid Maxwell of St. Albert, Alberta, finished fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle S6-9, S11, S13 event.
The Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships can be live-streamed on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries starting on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the final session at 8:30 p.m. ET.