Benoit Huot is in a great position to go to his fifth Paralympic Games after a very solid 4:09.89 performance in the 400m freestyle on the first night of competition.
Huot’s time was the the third fastest time he’s ever recorded in the event and just about six-seconds shy of Ian Silverman’s S10 world record mark of 4:03.57.
The time should qualify him for the Paralympic Games where he’ll have a chance to defend his silver medal from 2012. Huot’s won a Paralympic medal of every colour in this event, taking bronze in Beijing, gold in Athens, and silver in sydney.
Despite his success in this event, Huot’s best event is arguably the 200m IM where he’s the defending Paralympic champion. Huot will be looking to qualify for the Olympic team in the event tonight in order to have the chance to defend his gold.
Huot swam a 2:17.23 this morning in the SM10 200m IM to take the second seed overall heading into tonight’s final. If evidence from the 400m freestyle is enough, Huot has proven that he can take off a good chunk of time from the prelim swim to the finals.
Huot will also be swimming the 100m backstroke this week in Toronto.