Two British Women Break World Records On Day One Of Para Worlds

2022 WORLD PARA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 12-18, 2022
• Madeira, Portugal
• Penteada Swimming Pool Complex
• LCM (50-meter format)
• Start Times
  • Finals: 5 p.m. local / 12 p.m. ET
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Streaming Info

Para Classifications System:

• There are 14 classifications for Para swimmers, typically denoted as “S” followed by a number.
• “SB” designates an athletes classification for breaststroke events
• “SM” is for individual medley events
• Athletes with physical impairments are classified in S1-S10, SB1-SB9, and SM1-SM10 with numbers 1-10 ranging from more severe activity limitations to less severe limitations.
• Athletes with visual impairments are classified in S/SB11-13.
• Athletes with intellectual impairments are classified in S/SB14.

Day one of the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Maderia, Portugal, kicked off today. Amongst some of the notable swims included world records broken by Great Britain’s Tully Kearney and Ellie Challis in the women’s S5 50 free and SB2 50 breast respectivley. Aside from the two of them, Great Britain also took home three more golds to put them at second on the medal table.

Kearney clocked a time of 34.07, taking 1.21 seconds off her previous world record of 35.28 set in April this year. This marks her third time breaking the world record in this event within the last year, as she also set the world record at the Paralympics last year in a time of 35.83. Her Paralympic world record was set en route to breaking the world record in the S5 100 free, as the 50 free was not contested for her disability category last year. With her win, Kearney defends her S5 50 free title from 2019 Worlds.

Finishing behind Kearney were Brazil’s Joana Maria Neves (37.14) and Italy’s Monica Boggioni (39.40).

Challis’s time of 1:04.33 in the SB2 50 breast breaks her world record of 1:05.42 that she set in 2019. This swim marks her first-ever major international title, an upgrade from her bronze in the S3 50 back at 2019 Worlds and her silver in the same event at last year’s Olympics. In Challis’s race tonight, Israel’s Veronika Guirenko (1:25.74) placed second and Italy’s Angela Procida (1:42.47) was third.

Tully and Challis’s weren’t the only British swimmers winning gold tonight, as the nation also swept the S12 100 back titles with Hannah Russell (1:08.75) taking the women’s title and Stephen Clegg (1:00.03) taking the men’s.

This meet marks Russell’s first Worlds since 2015, as she didn’t compete at 2017 Worlds and skipped 2019 Worlds to take a mental health break. Her win today is her fourth international title in the S12 100 back, as she won gold in this event at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, and at 2013 Worlds. At the 2016 Paralympics, she set the world record of 1:06.06 in the event. Today, Brazil’s Maria Santiago (1:09.68) and Spain’s Maria Nadal (1:13.65) took the minor medals behind her.

In Clegg’s race, he beat out defending Paralympic champion Raman Salei of Azerbajain, who finished second in 1:00.71. Spain’s Borja Tamayo was third in 1:09.52. Last year at the Paralympics, Clegg finished in third to Salei and Ukraine’s Sergii Klippert.

Also winning gold for Great Britain was Bethany Firth, who took the women’s S14 200 free in a time of 2:08.72. She successfully regained the throne in this event today after being beaten out by Russian swimmer Valeria Shabalina at the Paralympics last year. Shabalina was not competing today, as the International Paralympic Committee banned Russia from international competition.

The women’s S14 200 free was actually a British podium sweep, as Jessica-Jane Applegate (2:10.26) and Louise Fiddes (2:13.07) finished second and third behind Firth.

Three championship records were set today as well. Canada’s Shebly Newkirk first broke the championship record for the women’s S6 100 back in 1:21.86 during prelims, and then lowered it by over a second to 1:20.96. Today, she took nearly three seconds off British swimmer Verena Schott‘s 2019 record of 1:23.81. Finishing behind her in the finals were Ukraine’s Anna Hontar (1:23.46) and Switzerland’s Nora Meister (1:24.77).

In the men’s S14 200 free, Brazil’s Gabriel Bandiera wiped another British record out of the books, beating Reece Dunn’s time of 1:52.96 from 2019 to win in 1:52.42 today. Canada’s Nicholas Bennett finished second (1:54.41), and Australia’s Benjamin Hance was third (1;56.14)

Cyrpus’s Karolina Pelendritou swam a time of 29.58 in the prelims of the women’s S11 50 free, although she was slower when she won the finals in 29.81. Her prelims time broke the old championship record of 30.34 from Ukraine’s Maryna Piddubuna set in 2019.

One continental record was broken tonight, as Leane Smith of the United States won the women’s SB3 50 breast in a time of 55.25 to take down her own Americas record of 57.13 from 2020. Spain’s Marta Infante took second behind Smith (55.59), and Brazil’s Patricia Santos (59.65) was third.

Aside from Great Britain, other multi-gold winning countries include medal table leaders Italy, United States, Brazil, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Medal Table After Day One:

*Note: The medal tables in the post are ranked by Gold medal totals, then silver medal totals, then bronze medal totals*

Other Results:

Men’s 400 Free S8:

1. Alberto Amodeo (ITA) – 4:27.76
2. Matthew Torres (USA) – 4:27.84
3. Robert Griswold (USA) – 4:33.37

Women’s 400 Free S8:

1. Morgan Stickney (USA) – 4:50.18
2. Xenia Palazzo (ITA) – 5:02.54
3. Nahia Borrezo (ESP) – 5:05.40

Men’s 100 Breast SB9

1. Stefano Raimondi (ITA) – 1:07.61
2. Maurice Wetekam (GER) – 1:10.02
3. James Leroux (CAN) – 1:11.04

Women’s 100 Breast SB9

1. Lisa Kruger (NED) – 1:15.53
2. Keira Stephens (AUS) – 1:17.77
3. Tatyana Lebrun (BEL) – 1:18.90

Men’s 100 Fly S13

1. Oleksii Virchenko (UKR) – 56.12
2. Alex Portal (FRA) – 56.34
3. Islam Aslanov (UZB) – 56.94

Women’s 100 Fly S13

1. Carlotta Gilli (ITA) – 1:04.96
2. Gia Pergolini (USA) – 1:06.91
3. Roisin Ni Riain (IRL) – 1:09.05

Men’s 50 Free S5

1. Francesco Bocciardo (ITA) – 33.11
2. Samuel Oliviera (BRA) – 33.28
3. Muhammaz Zulkafli (MAS) – 33.81

Men’s 50 Breast SB2

1. Arnulfo Castorena (MEX) – 59.55
2. Grant Patterson (AUS) – 1:03.58
3. Jesus Hernandez (MEX) – 1:04.02

Men’s 100 Back S6

1. Dino Sinovcic (CRO) – 1:16.83
2. Matias de Andrade (ARG) – 1:17.59
3. Antonio Fantin (ITA) – 1:19.86

Men’s 200 IM SM7

1. Carols Daniel Zarate (COL) – 2:31.45
2. Inaki Basiloff (ARG) – 2:32.10
3. Andrii Trusov (UKR) – 2:32.56

Women’s 200 IM SM7

1. Julia Gaffney (USA) – 2:55.28
2. Tess Routliffe (CAN) – 3:00.75
3. Camille Berube (CAN) – 3:05.40

Men’s 50 Free S11

1. Rogier Dorsman (NED) – 26.04
2. Edgaras Matakas (LTU) – 26.19
3. Keiichi Kamura (JPN) – 26.96

Women’s 50 Free S11

1. Karolina Pelendritou (CYP) – 29.81
2. Liesette Bruinsma (NED) – 31.04
3. Tatiana Blatternova (SVK) – 33.29

Men’s 50 Breast SB3

1. Efrem Morellli (ITA) – 48.88
2. Miguel Lique (ESP) – 50.79
3. Takayuki Suzuki (JPN) – 51.12

Men’s 100 Breast SB4

1. Antonios Tsapatakis (GRE) -1:36.27
2. Moises Garcia (COL) – 1:36.84
3. Miguel Navarez (COL) – 1:47.11

Women’s 100 Breast SB4

1. Giulla Ghiretti (ITA) – 1:52.01
2. Monica Boggoni (ITA) – 1:53.33
3. Solene Sache (FRA) – 2:11.16

Men’s 50 Free S10

1. Rowan Crothers (AUS) – 23.51
2. Phelipe Andrews Rodrigues (BRA) – 23.76
3. Stefano Raimondi (ITA) – 23.95

Women’s 50 Free S10

1. Auriele Rivard (CAN) -27.65
2. Maria Paula Zapata (COL) – 28.23
3. Jasmine Greenwood (AUS) – 28.37