Aurélie Rivard, a prominent Canadian Para swimmer, clinched a bronze medal during the Para Pan Pacific Championships held in Walnut, California. The 30-year-old athlete from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, secured the third spot in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final, competing against swimmers from the S6-11 and S13 classifications. Rivard, a three-time Paralympic champion in the S10 400 free category, earned a total of 933 points with a finishing time of 4 minutes and 37.04 seconds.
The gold medal went to Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson, a swimmer in the S9 category, who scored 986 points with a time of 4:40.35. Despite American Ali Truwit touching the wall first in 4:31.52, she garnered 971 points, settling for second place. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, finished in eighth place with 848 points, clocking at 4:47.89.
Swimmers earn points based on their proximity to the world record standard for their specific classification, with higher points awarded for times closer to the record benchmark. Rivard, making a comeback to international competition after a year, expressed her mixed emotions after the race, stating her determination to continue improving and proving her capabilities.
In another Canadian result, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, British Columbia, secured fourth place in the men’s 100m breaststroke final, where Japanese Paralympic champion Naohide Yamaguchi set a new world record with a time of 1:02.38. Reid Maxwell from St. Albert, Alberta, finished fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle event.
Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships can be viewed live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the final session at 8:30 p.m. ET.