2024 Paralympic Games
- August 29th – September 7th, 2024
- La Défense Arena
- Paris, France
- LCM (50 meters)
- Schedule
The 2024 Paralympic Games are just around the corner. Once again, La Défense Arena will fill up as swimmers and fans converge in Paris for ten days of competition. Like the Olympic Games a month ago, this meet is filled to the brim with stars—here are ten men to keep an eye on next week.
Para Swimming Classification System Decoded: There are 14 classifications in Para-Swimming. Physical disabilities are classed S1-S10, visual disabilities are classed S11-S13, and athletes with intellectual disabilities compete in class S14. In general, the higher the number of the classification, the less severe the impairment of the disability upon their performance in the pool. SB classes are specific to breaststroke races while SM classes are specific to individual medley events; athletes often compete in the same classification across events, but many are classified at different levels in breaststroke and IM events.
Simone Barlaam, Italy (S9 Classification)
The International Paralympic Committee’s 2023 Best Male Summer Sports Athlete is ready to make his mark in Paris. At 24, Simone Barlaam already owns nearly 20 World Championship titles.
At the 2023 World Championships in Manchester, England, Barlaam won six golds: 50 freestyle S9, 100 freestyle S9, 400 freestyle S9, 100 backstroke S9, 100 butterfly S9, and the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay 34 points. His standout swim was the 50 freestyle, where he took down his world record, breaking through the 24-second barrier with a 23.96. Barlaam had previously owned the record at 24.00.
Barlaam aims to follow his excellent 2023 season by defending Paralympic gold in the 50 freestyle S9. In Tokyo, he also earned silver in the 100 fly S9, silver in the 4×100 free relay 34 points, and bronze in the 4×100 medley relay. But based on his performances so far this quad, we could see him on the top of the podium a lot more at these Games.
Alex Portal, France (S13, SM13 classification)
A defining feature of the Olympic Games was the fans, who brought energy to every session, packing the stadium and reenergizing the meet after a Tokyo Games with empty stands. The crowd was at its loudest when there was a French swimmer in the water.
Expect the same at the Paralympic Games, as the home crowd should have plenty to cheer about once again. Their team is headlined by Alex Portal, who is getting set for his second Paralympics at 22 years old.
In Tokyo, Portal won silver in the 200 IM SM13 and bronze in the 400 freestyle S13. He’s kept improving through this quad and is now the two-time defending World Champion in the 200 IM S13. That event is one of his best chances to earn his first Paralympic gold medal in front of a home crowd, but he’ll have other opportunities.
In addition to his 200 IM S13 title at 2023 Worlds (2:06.16), he picked up two more golds, and one silver, showcasing his range. His other golds came in the 100 freestyle S13 (52.47) and 400 freestyle S13 (4:01.37), the latter of which was extra special as he shared the podium with his brother Kylian Portal, who took bronze and will make his Paralympic debut at 17 next week.
Andrii Trusov, Ukraine (S7, SM7 classification)
Andrii Trusov had a strong showing at the 2020 Paralympics, taking home five medals, including gold in the 50 freestyle S7 and 100 backstroke S7. He’s continued to shine in the years since Tokyo; he won six medals at both the 2022 and 2023 World Para Swimming Championships.
Trusov improved from four golds in 2022 to five in 2023 by winning the 200 IM SM7 in world record time (2:28.19) to go with his golds in the 50 freestyle S7 (27.38), 100 freestyle S7 (1:00.09), 100 backstroke S7 (1:09.37), and 50 fly S7 (28.92) defending his 2022 world titles in all four events.
While entries are not out yet, Trusov—who owns four world records—should be the heavy favorite in his main events, which he confirmed by breaking the 100 freestyle S7 and 100 backstroke S7 world records at April’s European Para Swimming Championships. In the 100 freestyle S7, he outdueled Turkey’s Turgut Aslan Yaraman for the title with a new world record of 59.62, lowering his mark from 2023 Worlds. Yaraman was also under the old world record, and the two were the first to break a minute in this classification’s event history, promising another electric race in Paris.
Trusov is part of a deep Ukrainian Para Swimming squad that includes names like Denys Ostapchenko, Danylo Chufarov, and Oleksii Virchenko.
José Arnulfo Castorena Vélez, Mexico (S4, SB2, SM3 classification)
Swimming is a lifelong sport. That’s true no matter your talent level and given the demands of the sport, it’s special to see longevity at the very top of the sport. Mexico’s José Arnulfo Castorena Vélez defines that; at 46, he’s gearing up for his seventh Paralympic Games.
A breaststroke specialist, Vélez won his first Paralympic title in the 50 breaststroke SB2 at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney. He earned gold again in 2012, and picked up his third Paralympic crown in Tokyo, 20 years after he won the event for the first time.
Vélez also has two silvers and a bronze medal in his collection, which he’s hoping to add to in Paris. He’s been the man to beat at global international competitions in the SB2 classification of the 50 breaststroke for the last five years; not only did he win gold in Tokyo, but he’s won the last three World Championship titles in the event (2019, 2022, 2023).
Nicholas Bennett, Canada (S14, SB14, SM14 classification)
Now 20 years old, Nicholas Bennett first turned heads at the 2019 Pan American Para Championships, where he won three golds (200 free S14, 100 breast SB14, 200 IM SM14) and a silver medal (100 fly S14).
Bennett competed at the 2020 Paralympics, but his big break came just last year. At 2023 Worlds, Bennett won gold in the 200 free S14, holding off Great Britain’s William Ellard by .04 seconds, winning in 1:54.75. He followed up with another gold, this time in the 200 IM SM14 (2:09.40), and an Americas record for silver in the 100 breast SB14 (1:04.41).
Then, at the 2024 Canadian Trials, Bennett broke the world record in the 200 IM SM14, powering to 2:05.97 and lowering his best by 1.72 seconds. Between that swim and his first 200 freestyle personal best in two years earlier in the season—a 1:54.20 that would’ve won bronze in Tokyo—Bennett looks positioned to earn his first Paralympic medals in Paris.
Nelson Crispin Corzo, Colombia (S6, SB6, SM6 classification)
A whopping 16 world records fell during the Berlin stop of the CITI Para Swimming Series. Nelson Crispin Corzo was responsible for two of them, taking down the world records in both the 50/100 breaststroke SB6 (34.95/1:17.59).
The 50 breaststroke, in particular, was a special race; events were raced mixed-classification, so fans were treated to three world records being erased in one final as Corzo, his countryman Carlos Serrano Zarate, and Germany’s Taliso Engel all broke the 50 breast world record in their respective classifications. Corzo and Zarate are a powerful breaststroke duo for Colombia; Zarate is the two-time defending Paralympic champion and world record holder in the 100 breaststroke SB7.
At 32 years old, Corzo is now a 4x Paralympian. After three silvers in Rio, Corzo earned his first Paralympic gold in Tokyo with a win in the 200 medley SM6. He defended that title at both the 2022 and 2023 Worlds, giving him added momentum heading into Paris.
Taliso Engel, Germany (S13, SB13, SM13 classification)
Engel has already built quite an impressive resume for a 22-year-old. He’s on an impressive hot streak in the 100 breaststroke SB13, winning it at the 2019 Worlds, 2020 Paralympics, 2022 Worlds, and 2023 Worlds.
And by taking down the 50 and 200 breaststroke world records in the SB13 classification in front of a home-nation crowd at the Berlin edition of the CITI Para Swimming Series, Engel now owns all three world records in the classification as he broke the 100 breast mark at the 2024 European Para Swimming Championships.
Engel’s records stand at 28.54/1:02.22/2:23.59 and he’ll try to lower all three again this season on the sport’s biggest stage. The European men did very well at this year’s Olympic Games, winning 11 of 14 available individual golds; will the same pattern hold at the Paralympics?
Keiichi Kimura, Japan (S11 classification)
At his fourth Paralympic Games, Keiichi Kimura got to experience something few swimmers do: winning a gold medal at a home Games. For Kimura, it was even more special because his win in the 100 butterfly S11 was his first Paralympic gold medal—he’d made his first Paralympic appearance in Beijing and medalled in 2012 and 2016, but was still searching for that first gold. And after waiting an extra year because of the delayed Games, he finally achieved it.
Since completing that dream, Kimura has added six more World Championship medals to his impressive haul, including backing up his Paralympic title with gold in 2022. He was silver in the 100 butterfly S11 at 2023 Worlds, which could serve as added motivation to defend his Paralympic title.
Gabriel Dos Santos Araujo, Brazil (S2 classification)
Gabriel Dos Santos Araujo had a successful Tokyo Paralympics, winning three medals. He earned gold in the 50 back S2 and the 200 freestyle S2, along with a silver in the 100 back S2.
Since Tokyo, he swept those events at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He did the same at the 2023 Para Pan American Games, adding golds in the 50 free and 100 free S2 to his traditional triple. He also broke the S2 classification’s world record in the 50 fly with a 52.37 in Berlin this year and the 150 IM with a 3:23.83 in March 2023.
Adding to his momentum this season, he helped Brazil top the medal table at the final stop of the CITI Para Swimming Series in Limoges, France by earning two golds (100 free, 150 IM) and two silvers (50 free, 50 back).
Now 22, Araujo arrives in Paris as the heavy favorite in multiple events as he looks to follow up his electric Paralympic debut in Tokyo.
Noah Jaffe, United States (S8, SB8, SM8 classification)
Speaking of Paralympic debuts, Noah Jaffe is set to make his for the United States. After making his international debut at the 2022 Duel In The Pool, Jaffe turned heads at the 2023 World Championships, where he won four medals.
In his first senior-level international final, the 400 freestyle S8, Jaffe earned bronze. He followed that performance by striking gold in the 100 freestyle S8, lowering the Americas record in both prelims and finals, swimming 59.15 for gold. He also earned silver in the 50 free S8 (27.14) and bronze in the 100 fly (1:04.77).
Jaffe is part of a strong U.S. squad that’s looking to continue its reign as the country with the most Paralympic medals in history. Jaffe himself is hoping to add to that total and went all in to do it; he took a gap year from Cal Berkeley to train full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.