1 September, 2024: Canadian swimmer Aurélie Rivard secured her 12th career Paralympic medal, winning silver in the women’s S10 100-metre freestyle event on Sunday in Paris. The 28-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, completed the race in one minute 00.82 seconds, just 0.3 seconds behind France’s Emeline Pierre, who took the gold. Rivard, a two-time defending champion and world record holder in the event, surpassed wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos for the most medals by a Canadian in Paris. This silver adds to the bronze she won in the S10 50m freestyle on the opening day of the Games.
Rivard, who holds the world record of 58.14 seconds set at the Tokyo Games in 2021, also won the world title last summer in Manchester, England. She had posted the fastest qualifying time earlier in the day with a time of 1:00.41. Born with an underdeveloped left hand, Rivard will compete again on Wednesday in the 400m freestyle and on Friday in the 100m backstroke.
In other results, Edmonton’s Arianna Hunsicker did not advance to the final, finishing seventh in her heat with a time of 1:03.18.
Para rower Jacob Wassermann, from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, competed in the men’s PR1 single sculls B final in Paris, finishing 10th overall. The 24-year-old, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a bus crash that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team six years ago, said he initially aimed for the Los Angeles Paralympic Games in 2028. Having taken up Para rowing less than two years ago, Wassermann described his journey to becoming a Paralympian as unexpected but rewarding. He finished fourth in the B final with a time of 11 minutes 58.90 seconds.
Canadian wheelchair racers Brent Lakatos and Austin Smeenk both advanced to the finals in their respective heats on Sunday. Lakatos, an 11-time Paralympic medallist from Dorval, Quebec, posted a season-best time in the men’s 400m T53 event, winning his heat in 49.04 seconds and securing a spot in the final. Smeenk, a 27-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, registered the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the men’s T34 100m, winning his Round 1 heat in 15.38 seconds. He will compete in the final on Monday. Smeenk previously won a silver medal in this event at the World Para Athletics Championships last July.
