Final Days at Swimming Championships See More World Records

As the second half of the 2009 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships 25m in Rio de Janeiro starts to wind down, athletes are seeing an opportunity to break more World records in the race to the podium.

In the Men’s 100m Breaststroke (SB4) on 3 December, host country’s Daniel Dias set a World record with his time of 1:31.49. Spain’s Ricardo Ten Argiles, who finished just 0.17s behind Dias, took second place. For the Women’s 100m Breaststroke (SB4), Bela Hlavackova from the Czech Republic finished first with her time of 2.02.63. She was followed by Alice Hsiao Hung Luo from Chinese Taipei and Ana Clara Carneiro Grillo Cruz from Brazil respectively.

The same day also saw a World record in the Men’s 100m Butterfly (S11) from Japan’s Keiichi Kimura with his time of 1:07.02. Kimura was followed by USA’s Philip Scholz and Brazil’s Andre Luis Meneghetti. In the Women’s 100m Butterfly (S11), well-known athlete from the USA Jessica Long set a World record with her time of 1:12.24. Long was followed by Australia’s Jacqueline Rose Freney and Switzerland’s Chantal Cavin respectively.

Mallory Weggemann (USA) took top position again in Brazil, setting a World record at the same time in the Women’s 100m Freestyle (S7) with 1:08.56. Weggemann was followed by compatriot Cortney Jordan and Paralympian Ambassador Kirsten Bruhn (GER) respectively. Australia’s Matthew John Levy also set a World record in the Men’s 100m Freestyle (S7) with his time of 1:00.37. Levy was followed by Great Britain’s Matthew Walker and New Zealand’s Michael Ardern respectively.

A trio of athletes from Great Britain took the top spots in the Women’s 100m Individual Medley (SM9). Claire Cashmore took first and set a World record with her time of 1:11.83, followed by Stephanie Millward in second and Kate Grey in third. In the Men’s 100m Individual Medley (SM9), Australia’s Matthew Cowdrey took first, setting a World record with 59.07s. Cowdrey was followed by Hungary’s Tamas Sors and Japan’s Takuro Yamada respectively.