Aurélie Rivard of Canada secured a bronze medal during 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 freestyle, earned 933 points by clocking 4:37.04.
The gold went to Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson, S9, who scored 986 points with a time of 4:40.35, surpassing S10 American Ali Truwit, who finished in 4:31.52 but earned 971 points. Mary Jibb of Bracebridge, Ont., finished eighth with 848 points after completing the race in 4:47.89.
The points awarded are based on the proximity of a swimmer’s time to the designated world record standard for their specific category, with higher points for closer times to the record.
After a year away from international competition, Rivard made a strong comeback. She expressed her mixed emotions about the race, stating that it remains her favorite and believes she can still improve. In other Canadian results, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, B.C., placed fourth in the men’s 100m breaststroke final, where Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan set a world record.
Reid Maxwell from St. Albert, Alta., finished fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle. Viewers can catch live coverage of the Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries starting on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the final evening session at 8:30 p.m. ET.
