Swimming: Day two preview

An incredible 13 world records were set in both the heats and finals on an electric day opening day of competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, with many more expected over the coming days.

The world’s best athletes already opened their medal accounts on Thursday (8 September).

Here is a selection of key events to look out for on day two on Friday (9 September).

Men’s 50m freestyle S10

Andre Brasil, the double Paralympic and quadruple world champion, makes his hotly anticipated first appearance of the Games in a race that could see a Brazilian one-two. Brasil’s 10-year unbeaten record in major races in the splash and dash was blown out of the water when he lost to teammate Phelipe Rodrigues at the 2016 European Open Championships.

Women’s 50m freestyle S10

Canada’s world champion Aurelie Rivard and New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe will renew their rivalry. Rivard broke Pascoe’s world record on her way to gold at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games.

Men’s 50m freestyle S7

Europe’s best 50m freestyle S7 swimmer, Ukraine’s Yevheniy Bohodayko, gets his Rio 2016 campaign underway as a silver medallist from the 2015 World Championships.

Men’s 400m freestyle S9

Portugal’s favourite Para swimmer, David Grachat, secured a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. It was his country’s only medal in the pool and the first of his career.

Women’s 100m butterfly S8

The USA’s Jessica Long will go for her second medal in the space of 24 hours and will hope to land her third successive Paralympic title in this event. Long is also the reigning world champion.

Women’s 100m backstroke S11

New Zealand’s Mary Fisher has won two world titles in this race since making her Paralympic debut at London 2012, where she took silver.

Men’s 50m butterfly S6

China’s Paralympic champion Qing Xu has revealed he is considering retirement after Rio 2016, so will be keen to defend his title and go out on a high. His teammate Tao Zheng, now the world champion, having taken the title from Xu in 2015, will try to stop him.

Mixed 4x50m freestyle relay 20 points

This is a new event for Rio 2016 and therefore swimmers will aim to make history. At the 2015 World Championships, Brazil claimed gold with a new world record time courtesy of Clodoaldo Silva, Joana Maria Silva, Esthefany Rodrigues and Daniel Dias. It could be Dias’ second medal, having won the men’s 200m freestyle S5 on Thursday.

Live coverage and results of swimming is available at Paralympic.org. Live updates will also be posted to IPC Swimming’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.