Paralympic Games, Day 2: Tully Kearney Becomes First to Win Second Gold
It’s two gold medals in two days for Tully Kearney, the British swimmer added to her gold in the S5 200 freestyle with 100 free gold on Friday.
Kearney went 1:15.10 to win the event at the Paris La Defense Arena on Friday night, the second finals session of the Paralympics. She defended her title in the 100 free from the Tokyo Games.
In all, it’s 14 finals for the Paralympians on Night 2.
Men’s S5 100 freestyle
Ukraine’s Oleksandr Komarov picked up his second medal of these Games by winning the 100 free in 1:07.77. He roared back from second at the wall to close in 35.91, rallying past Guo Jincheng of China. Guo set an Asian record of 1:08.22 that was also under Daniel De Faria Dias’ time from the London Games (1:08.39).
Komarov had won bronze in the 200 free. This is the fourth career Paralympic medal and first individual gold for the 35-year-old, who didn’t medal in Tokyo.
Third went to Neutral Paralympic Athlete Kirill Pulver in 1:09.41. He surged from fourth at the wall to deny Francesco Bocciardo another medal. Pulver had been first in prelims.
Women’s S5 100 freestyle
Tully Kearney turned second in the 100 free but summoned the only sub-40 final lap in 39.03 to win in 1:15.10. In the end, she was 2.27 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Iryna Poida, who picked up her second silver of the games. Monica Boggioni of Italy won bronze again in 1:21.74. It’s an exact repeat of the 200 free podium.
Germany’s Tanja Scholz set the S4 Paralympic record for a second straight day in 1:25.78. In the final, she finished sixth in the final.
Men’s S4 100 freestyle
Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel wasn’t quite as fast in the final as in prelims, when he reset the Paralympic record of 1:19.33. But his 1:20.25 in finals was more than a second to the good with medals on the line, the 23-year-old picking up his fourth career Paralympic medal. It repairs a disqualification in the even in Tokyo three years ago.
Takayuki Suzuki, who won gold in Tokyo in that Paralympic record, picked up silver in 1:21.71. He was fourth at the wall but surged later to get his second medal of the Games and ninth all-time.
Bronze went to Angel de Jesus Camacho of Mexico, in an Americas record of 1:22.32.
Men’s SM6 200 individual medley
China’s Yang Hong lowered his world record from last year to 2:37.31 to pick up the gold medal. It’s his second career gold, joining a bronze in 2016 in Rio when he was just 16 years old. Yang finished fourth, just .05 off the podium, in this event in Tokyo.
It took a world record to deny a stellar swim by Nelson Crispin, who went 2:38.04. That’s quicker than the time he used to win gold in Tokyo, which was then a world record, and it’s the new America’s record. With eight medals, Crispin is the most decorated Paralympian in Colombia’s history. Six of his medals are silvers.
Talisson Henrique Glock rose from sixth to third on the freestyle leg to take bronze in 2:39.30. He’s a holdover from the final in Tokyo.
Women’s SM6 200 individual medley
The British women are off to a fantastic start to the Paralympics. Maisie Summers-Newton showed it, dominating the field for gold. Her time of 2:56.90 was within .32 of the time she used to win gold in Tokyo. The world-record holder was more than 5.5 seconds clear of the field in winning gold, defending her title from Tokyo and picking up her third career gold.
The race for second was more compelling. American Ellie Marks raced home in 40.82, more than four seconds quicker than China’s Liu Daomin, to secure her second silver of the meet. Marks clocked in at 3:02.50, more than a second ahead of Liu.
Men’s S11 400 freestyle
Czechia’s David Kratochvil lived up to the pre-meet hype with a win in a European record time of 4:26.34. The country didn’t win a gold medal at the last Paralympics, but it has one in the 16-year-old.
To do so, he had to deny the veteran Rogier Dorsman. The 25-year-old and reigning champion got silver this time around, his fourth career medal. Dorsman led at the 300-meter mark, but Kratochvil overhauled him in the final 100, getting to the wall first by a clean five seconds. Dorsman went 4:31.34. He just held off a charge by Uchu Tomita of Japan, who was .99 seconds behind. Two-time medalist Hua Dongdong of China was just off the podium in fourth.
Women’s S11 400 freestyle
The surprise of the session meant that world record holder and reigning Olympic champion Anastasia Pagonis didn’t just fall short of defending her title but leaves without a medal of any shade.
Pagonis, who has dealt with injuries and training disruptions for most of the last two years, was quickest in prelims. But a superb race by the Netherlands’ Lisette Bruinsma to take it out hard and hold it gave her the gold medal in 5:00.42, four seconds faster than Pagonis in prelims but six seconds slower than her world record from Tokyo. Bruinsma’s time is a European record. It’s the eighth career medal for the Dutchwoman, which includes silver to Pagonis in this race in Tokyo and gold in Rio in this event.
Behind Bruinsma was too much speed for Pagonis to get a medal by going seven tenths slower than prelims. Zhang Xiaotong of China set the Asian record of 5:03.45 for silver. Daria Lukianenko, a Neutral Paralympic Athlete, won bronze in 5:04.37. Pagonis was fourth in 5:05.31, her charge on the final 100 never quite materializing.
Fifth was Cai Liwen, the Chinese five-time medalist and winner of bronze in Tokyo.
Men’s SB9 100 breaststroke
Stefano Raimondi netted seven medals, though only one gold, at the Tokyo Olympics. He successfully defended that gold on Friday, going 1:05.28 to win. He was comfortably ahead of the field all the way, up by more than 1.5 seconds at the wall and holding on to a .63-second margin of victory when the field charged for home.
That charge was led by Hector Denayer of France. With the home crowd behind him, he rose from third to silver in the final 50, touching in 1:05.91. Third was Germany’s Maurice Wetekam in 1:07.04. By a quarter second, he denied Artem Isaev of NPA a podium spot. Isaev had won silver in Tokyo and had set the pace in prelims at 1:07.48. Denayer, 19, won his first career medal.
Women’s SB9 100 breaststroke
After five medals in Tokyo, Chantalle Zijderveld winnowed her program to a single event in Paris. Her focus paid off on what is becoming a history night for the Dutch.
While Zijderveld was nowhere near her Paralympic record of 1:10.99 from Tokyo, she was more than a second clear of the field in 1:13.74 to grab another gold in her signature event. Zijderveld won this event in Tokyo and took bronze in Rio as a 15-year-old.
Zhang Meng of China set an Asian record to get silver in 1:15.05. She rallied from fourth to second on the final 50. Lisa Kruger made it two Dutchwomen on the podium with bronze, a half-second up on Keira Stephens of Australia. For Kruger, the Rio Paralympic champion, it’s a sixth overall medal and means she’s got one of each color.
Men’s S13 100 backstroke
Make it 18 gold medals and 20 total medals for Ihar Boki, the Belorussian swimming under the NPA banner dominating the field from the start to win in 56.60. His time was 1.35 seconds ahead of Vladimir Sotnikov, who had taken the top seed in prelims. Instead, he got silver in 57.95.
Frenchman Alex Portal joined them under a minute in 59.08 to glean his second medal of the meet.
Women’s S13 100 backstroke
It has been a generally woeful start to the meet for the United States, for anyone not named Ellie Marks. While the wait for a male finalist stretches through the second night, the wait for a gold medal is at least over.
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Gia Pergolini saw to that, taking gold in 1:04.93 to defend her title from Tokyo and grab her second career medal. She was just a touch slower than the 1:04.64 used in Tokyo, but 2.34 seconds quicker than Roisin Ni Riain of Ireland. The 19-year-old picks up her first medal. Bronze went to Carlotta Gilli of Italy in 1:08.08, her second medal of these Games and seven all-time.
Fellow American Grace Nuhfer finished eighth.
Men’s SB8 100 breaststroke
The flags above Andrei Kalina have changed three times. But since Athens in 2004, he has more or less dominated this event. The former Ukrainian who has swum for Russia and now as an NPA won this event for the fifth time, in 1:09.02. He was two seconds behind the world record he set in Beijing 16 years ago, but that sentence contains all you need to know about the longevity of the 11-time Paralympic medalist, who is 37 years old.
Yang Guanglong challenged him, the Chinese swimmer setting an Asian record of 1:09.83 for silver. He upgrades from bronze in the event in Tokyo for his fourth Paralympic medal.
Bronze in this multi-class event went to Carlos Serrano of Colomba, an S7 swimmer. His time of 1:10.55 clipped 1.5 seconds off his Paralympic record from Tokyo and was within .23 of his world record from last year’s World Championships. For Serrano, it’s medal No. 8, though his first swimming up in an S8/SB8 event. He won a world championship in this event as an S7 swimmer in Manchester at Worlds last year.
Women’s SB8 100 breaststroke
Anastasiya Dmytriv of Spain backed up the best time in prelims with a win in the final, going 1:19.75 to win by more than a second. It’s her first Paralympic medal. She was 1.29 clear of world record holder Brock Whiston of Great Britain. Whiston was nowhere near her mark set in 2019 at 1:13.83, but she was clear of the field for silver in 1:21.04. Bronze went to Viktoriia Ishchiulova of NPA. It denied Ellen Keane a chance at her third Olympic medal by .19 seconds.
Mixed 200 medley relay 20 points
The Chinese foursome of Peng Qiuping, Yuan Weiyi, Jiang Yuyan and Guo Jincheng established a world record of 2:14.98, breaking the country’s prior standard of 2:15.49, set at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The United States posted an American record of 2:18.99 behind the relay of Leanne Smith, Abbas Karimi, Zach Shattuck and Ellie Marks, while Brazil earned the bronze medal.
