Paris 2024: Stefano Raimondi takes third gold on day of clean sweeps for China

Paris has been very special to Stefano Raimondi. On Tuesday, day six of Para swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, the Italian took his third gold at La Defense Arena and his 10th overall Games medal.

He clocked 55.02 to win the men’s 100m butterfly S10 in front of his partner and teammate Giulia Terzi.

"She's the light of my life. She gave me energy when I wasn't feeling so well,” Raimondi said. 

Terzi, a two-time Paralympic champion, did not compete on Tuesday and will be back on the water on Wednesday in the women’s 100m freestyle S7. She gave birth to Edoardo, their first baby, six months ago. 

“She told me to enjoy it, to swim fast and enjoy. I guess it helped, it gave me the energy to win," Raimondi added.

A fast he swam. The silver from Tokyo turned into gold in Paris.

"Silver in Tokyo, gold now, it's amazing. This morning I wasn't feeling great, I had stomach problems. But this afternoon I felt better and was able to swim better, too. When I entered the pool and saw all the people in the stadium, that gave me more energy to improve my time for the gold,” added the Paralympic champion. 

Italy also picked another gold on Tuesday with Carlotta Gilli in the women’s 200m individual medley SM13. 

China not only went one better than the Italians but also made two podium sweeps. First in the men’s 50m backstroke S5 with Yuan Weiyi taking gold, Guo Jincheng with silver and Wang Lichao with bronze.

"Before the competition we said to each other, 'We will take all the medals, all the medals need to go to China'. We all wanted it. So we just set ourselves that goal. We are very proud we made it happen," said Weiyi.

Twenty minutes later, Lu Dong lead a triple podium in the women’s backstroke S5, followed by He Shenggao in second and Liu Yu in third.

In the 200m individual medley SM13, one of the rare races in which Chinese swimmers did not feature on the podium, neutral Para athlete Ihar Boki completed his own clean sweep - five races at Paris 2024, five golds for the 21-time Paralympic champion. He signed off in style too, breaking his own world record (2:02.03).

When I entered the pool and saw all the people in the stadium, that gave me more energy to improve my time for the gold

All Para swimming medallists of the Tuesday evening session, 3 September, at Paris 2024:

Men's 100m Backstroke - S7 Final
Gold: Yurii Shenhur (Ukraine)
Silver: Andrii Trusov (Ukraine)
Bronze: Federico Bicelli (Italy)

Men's 100m Backstroke - S9 Final
Gold: Yahor Shchalkanau (NPA)
Silver: Ugo Didier (France)
Bronze: Bogdan Mozgovoi (NPA)

Women's 100m Backstroke - S9 Final
Gold: Christie Raleigh-Crossley (United States)
Silver: Nuria Marques Soto (Spain)
Bronze: Mariana Ribeiro (Brazil)

Men's 200m Freestyle - S4 Final
Gold: Ami Omer Dadaon (Israel)
Silver: Roman Zhdanov (NPA)
Bronze: Takayuki Suzuki (Japan)

Men's 50m Butterfly - S6 Final
Gold: Wang Jingang (China)
Silver: Nelson Crispin Corzo (Colombia)
Bronze: Laurent Chardard (France)

Women's 50m Butterfly - S6 Final
Gold: Jiang Yuyan (China)
Silver: Liu Daomin (China)
Bronze: Mayara Do Amaral Petzold (Brazil)

Men's 50m Backstroke - S5 Final
Gold: Yuan Weiyi (China)
Silver: Guo Jincheng (China)
Bronze: Wang Lichao (China)

Women's 50m Backstroke - S5 Final
Gold: Lu Dong (China)
Silver: He Shenggao (China)
Bronze: Liu Yu (China)

Men's 200m Individual Medley - SM11 Final
Gold: Rogier Dorsman (Netherlands)
Silver: Danylo Chufarov (Ukraine)
Bronze: David Kratochvil (Czechia)

Women's 200m Individual Medley - SM11 Final
Gold: Daria Lukianenko (NPA)
Silver: Ma Jia (China)
Bronze: Cai Liwen (China)

Women's 100m Freestyle - S3 Final
Gold: Leanne Smith (United States)
Silver: Marta Fernandez Infante (Spain)
Bronze: Rachael Watson (Australia)

Men's 200m Individual Medley - SM13 Final
Gold: Ihar Boki (NPA)
Silver: Alex Portal (France)
Bronze: Vladimir Sotnikov (NPA)

Women's 200m Individual Medley - SM13 Final
Gold: Carlotta Gilli (Italy)
Silver: Olivia Chambers (United States)
Bronze: Roisin Ni Riain (Ireland)

Men's 100m Butterfly - S10 Final
Gold: Stefano Raimondi (Italy)
Silver: Ihor Nimchenko (Ukraine)
Bronze: Alex Saffy (Australia)

Women's 100m Butterfly - S10 Final
Gold: Faye Rogers (Great Britain)
Silver: Callie-Ann Warrington (Great Britain)
Bronze: Katie Cosgriffe (Canada)