Aurélie Rivard has done it again with her fifth medal of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, capturing silver in the S10 400-metre backstroke.
The Canadian star qualified for the final with a time of 1:11.11. During the final, she secured a personal best of 1:08.94.
“It’s a PB,” said the St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. native. “I hadn’t been under 1:09.00 my entire life, so overall I’m very pleased with my first medal in the 100 back ever.”
Hungary’s Bianka Pap snatched gold, and was on the brink of breaking a world record. The bronze was earned by Lisa Kruger of the Netherlands.
Starting in lane two, Rivard fell behind the leader and was fifth at the turn. During the last 25 metres she picked up the pace, gliding into second behind Pap.
“The race was awesome,” Rivard said. “I finished really well. I’m really pleased with the way that I raced, even though I had no idea where I was in the field until I touched the wall.”
The 25-year-old has earned 10 medals across three Paralympics, with still one race to go in Tokyo on Thursday.
Canadian swimmers have been holding up their end, winning seven out of the 18 national medals — three golds, 10 silver and five bronze. Swimming events will wrap up on Friday.