Tokyo Paralympics preview: Para swimming day 6

Para swimming day six will see 15 medal events taking place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Monday, 30 August. 

The packed session will kick off with the men’s 100m backstroke S7. Ukraine’s Yevhenii Bohodaiko will be defending his Paralympic title from Rio 2016. He also has a silver from London 2012.

Bohodaiko will come to Tokyo as the sixth-fastest Para swimmer in the event. Argentina’s Pipo Carlomagno is leading the way with the best time set in Buenos Aires in late June.

Israeli Para swimmer Mark Malyar should pose the biggest threat to Bohodaiko’s quest of winning the second consecutive Paralympic gold. Malyar is the third-fastest man of the year and the reigning European champion from May's Madeira 2020 European Championships.

The women’s 100m backstroke S7 will come next with plenty of USA swimmers as medal contenders.

Mallory Weggemann, Julia Gaffney, and McKenzie Coan are spread from second to fourth place in the rankings this year. They have all set their best times at the US National Trials in Minneapolis in June. Gaffney is also the world record holder in the event.

Men’s and women’s 100m backstroke S9

Two backstroke events will follow in the programme. First up is the men’s 100m backstroke S9 with Bogdan Mozgovoi, Simone Barlaam, and Ugo Didier in action. RPC’s Mozgovoi is the world record holder, the European champion from Madeira this year, and the fastest man in the event in 2021.

Italy’s Simone Barlaam is the second-fastest in the rankings this year, but without a medal to his name from the European Championships in 2021. It was a surprising results considering Barlaam is the current world champion from London 2019. 

French rising star Ugo Didier won gold in the race at the Mexico City 2017 Worlds and the Dublin 2018 Europeans. His successful Paralympics cycle was rounded up with silver medals at the Euros in Madeira this year and the London 2019 Worlds.

The Women’s 100m backstroke S9 is likely to be one of the highlights on day six. Australia’s two-time Paralympic champion Ellie Cole leads the way. She is the fourth-fastest woman in the event this year.

The 2021 ranking leader is USA’s Hannah Aspden, the bronze medallist from the Rio 2016 Paralympics and silver medallist from the Mexico City 2017 Worlds.

Three-time European champion Nuria Marques from Spain is the second in the rankings this year. She has a Paralympic silver in the event from Rio 2016. 

New Zealand’s world record holder Sophie Pascoe is the third-fastest in the event in 2021 and the current world champion from London 2019.

Men’s 200m freestyle S4, men’s and women’s 50m butterfly S6

The men’s 200m freestyle S4 has Israel’s Ami Omer Dadaon as a clear favourite for gold. He is the world record holder, took gold in the European Championships in May and is the fastest Para swimmer in the event in 2021.

Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki is the second-fastest man this year. He has gone head-to-head against Dadaon at the Berlin World Series in June where he set his season-best time.

RPC’s Roman Zhdanov will be another threat for Dadaon as the reigning world champion from London 2019. This year, he had to settle for a silver medal at the Madeira 2020 Euros where he set the third-fastest time of the year.

The only two butterfly events on day six will come next. First in the water will be the men’s 50m butterfly S6 with Colombia’s Nelson Crispin leading the way as the fastest Para swimmer in 2021.

A world champion from Mexico City 2017, he took silver at London 2019 and is a two-time Parapan American Games champion. 

Spain’s David Sanchez is the second-fastest man this year from the World Series in Berlin in June. Sierra is followed by Kazakhstan’s Yerzhan Salimgereyev who set his season-best in the Lewisville World Series.

France's Laurent Chardard is another one to watch as the silver medallist at the London 2019 World Championships and the Madeira 2020 Europeans.

Women’s 50m butterfly S6 is Great Britain’s Eleanor Robinson territory. She is the reigning Paralympic champion from Rio 2016, as well as the two-time European champion. She finished second at her home World Championships in London in 2019. The 19-year-old Robinson is also the fastest woman in the event in 2021.

She is followed by the Republic of Ireland’s Nicole Turner who set her best time at the Euros in Madeira where she finished behind Robinson for silver. Turner has a World Championships bronze from London 2019.

USA’s Elizabeth Marks will be the main threat for Robinson and Turner. She is the third-fastest Para swimmer this year. Like many other US Para swimmers, she set her season best at the US Trials in Minneapolis.

Men’s and women’s 50m backstroke S5

Another two short-distance events will come up next. Brazil’s Paralympic legend Daniel Dias has dominated the men’s 50m backstroke S5 for more than a decade as the three-time Paralympic champion, four-time world champion, and four-time Parapan American Games champion.

He is the fifth-fastest Para swimmer this year and will have to go up a Chinese wall led by the fastest man in 2021, Tao Zheng. He set his season-best time at the World Series in Berlin in June and is also the world record holder.

Zheng’s compatriot Weiyl Yuan is the second-fastest Para swimmer in the event this year with Jingsong Ruan coming up in fourth place. Yaroslav Semenenko from Ukraine squeezed in third place.

He set his best time in Madeira in May where he won the second consecutive European title. Sememenko is also the silver medallist from the London 2019 World Championships.

Abbas Karimi from the Refugee Paralympic Team will also make an appearance at the event in Tokyo. His best international result in the men’s 50m backstroke S5 is the seventh-place finish at the World Championships in Mexico City 2017.

If Dias is the star in the men's race, there is no other swimmer as successful in the women's 50m backstroke S5 as Spain’s Teresa Perales. She is the reigning Paralympic and world champion, among her 10 major championships medals in the event.

Turkey’s Sumeyye Boyaci is the second-fastest woman in 2021. She was denied the gold medal at the London 2019 Worlds by Perales and had to settle for a silver, but won first place at the Dublin 2018 Euros.

Dong Lu from China is the fastest Para swimmer this year. She set her season-best time at the Berlin World Series in June. Another name worth mentioning is Italy’s Monica Boggioni, the current European champion from Madeira in May. She has a bronze medal from the London 2019 Worlds and Dublin 2018 Euros.

Men’s and women’s 200m individual medley SM11

Four out of the five last events on 30 August will be individual medley races. First up will be the men’s 200m individual medley SM11. Dutch Para swimmer Rogier Dorsman will lead the way as the world record holder and reigning world champion from London 2019.

Dorsman is also the fastest man in the event in 2021 followed by Japan’s Keiichi Kimura who set his season-best in Fuji in March.

Ukraine’s Mykhailo Serbin comes in third in the rankings with his compatriot Viktor Smyrnov rounding up the four fastest Para swimmers this season. Smyrnov has two European Championships medals to his name, as well as the bronze from London 2019.

The Netherlands has another favourite for gold in the women’s 200m individual medley SM11. It is the defending Paralympic champion Liesette Bruinsma who is also the world record holder and world champion from London 2019. She has the third-fastest time in this year's rankings.

Jia Ma from China is the fastest Para swimmer in 2021. She set her best time in June at the Berlin World Series. Ma is followed by USA's Anastasia Pagonis who won the National Trials in Minneapolis, also in June. Both will be making their Paralympic debut in Tokyo.

Women’s 100m freestyle S3, men’s individual medley SM13

Next up on the schedule will be the women’s 100m freestyle S3. USA’s Leanne Smith is the favourite as the reigning world champion from London 2019. She is also the second-fastest Para swimmer in 2021 setting her time at the US Trials in Minneapolis.

Italy’s Arjola Trimi is the fastest in the season with the time set at the Madeira 2020 European Championships. She competed in a combined S3-S4 race in Portugal but that did not stop Trimi from winning gold.

The men’s 200m individual medley SM13 will be Ihar Boki’s fifth event at Tokyo 2020. He is the world record holder and the fastest man in 2021. The 27-year-old is a two-time world and European champion in the event, and he will be defending his Rio 2016 Paralympic title.

Alex Portal from France will be Boki’s main threat. He won a silver medal at both the World Championships in London in 2019 and this year's European Championships. Portal is the second-fastest man in 2021 setting his season-best at the Sheffield World Series in April.

Women’s 200m individual medley SM13, men's 4x100m freestyle relay 34 pts

The final women's event of the day is the 200m individual medley SM13. Reigning world and European champion Carlotta Gilli has the best time of the year, ahead of Colleen Young from USA. Young swam her fastest result at the Lewisville World Series in April.

Uzbekistan's Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova has the season's third-best time from June's World Series in Berlin.

The last event in the programme on day six will be the men's 4x100m freestyle relay 34 pts. Italy will come to Tokyo as the world record holder and the reigning world and European champion.

Ukraine will be Italy’s biggest rival as the defending Paralympic champion and silver medallist from the last World and European Championships. Brazil took silver in the race at the home Games in Rio five years ago.

Complete schedule and results from Para swimming at Tokyo 2020 will be available on Paralympic.org.