Tokyo Paralympics preview: Para swimming day 9

Several familiar faces and Games newcomers hoping for the glory on the penultimate day in the swimming pool at Tokyo 2020 19 Aug 2021
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A man sits on the edge of the pool waiting for his race to start
Mexico's Diego Lopez Diaz is coming to Tokyo as the fastest man in 2021 and the reigning world champion in the men's 50m freestyle S3
ⒸCatherine Ivill/Getty Images
By Filip Ozbolt | For World Para Swimming

Thursday, 2 September will crown Paralympic champions in 15 medal events in the penultimate day of Para swimming in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

The men's 400m freestyle S6 will open the afternoon session. Italy's Antonio Fantin is the favourite to win the gold medal as the fastest Para swimmer this year. He set the best time at the Madeira 2020 European Open Championships in May where he won his first continental title.

The 20-year-old Fantin is also a two-time world champion from London 2019 and Mexico City 2017.

RPC's Andrei Granichka is the only Para swimmer who came close to Fantin in recent years. He won silver both at the London 2019 Worlds and Madeira 2020 Euros. He is the fourth-fastest Para swimmer this year behind Brazil's Talisson Glock and Mexico's Juan Gutierrez Bermudez who occupy second and third place.

The men's event will be followed by the women's 400m freestyle race in the same class. Switzerland's Nora Meister is the world record holder and the fastest woman in the event this year. She won her first international title in the long-course race at the Madeira 2020 Euros.

Meister caused a big upset in Portugal beating Ukraine's Rio 2016 Paralympic champion Yelyzaveta Mereshko. The Ukrainian had to settle for silver and for the second-best time of the year. Mereshko is the title holder from the Dublin 2018 European Championships and a silver medallist from the London 2019 Worlds.

China's Yuyan Jiang won the gold medal in London, while her compatriot Lingling Song triumphed two years before in Mexico City. Song is also the silver medallist from the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Great Britain's Ellie Simmonds is number three in the event this year. She is the bronze medallist from Rio 2016 and from the London 2019 Worlds.

 

Men's and women's 100m butterfly S9

The men's 100m butterfly S9 reigning European and world champion will be making his Paralympic debut in Tokyo. Italy's Simone Barlaam is definitely one to watch in Japan. Two years ago at the World Championships in London he split the gold medal with his compatriot Federico Morlacchi after a jaw-dropping finish.

Morlacchi is the silver medallist from Rio 2016, as well as a three-time World Championships medallist. Neither Morlacchi nor Barlaam are leading the rankings in 2021. Australia's William Martin is the fastest man in the event this year.

He set the season-best at the National Trials in Adelaide in June where his compatriot Timothy Hodge swam the third-fastest time of the year. Barlaam is in second place with his performance at the Madeira 2020 Euros.

Hungary's Zsofia Konkoly is leading the way in the women's 100m butterfly S9 that will come up next. She is the fastest woman in 2021, as well as the European champion from Madeira in May.

But in Tokyo she will have to beat New Zealand's Sophie Pascoe, the world record holder and world champion from London 2019.

China's Xu Jialing will be defending her Paralympic champion while the London 2012 and Rio 2016 silver medallist Sarai Gascon of Spain is another medal hopeful. Gascon set the third-fastest time this year at the Berlin World Series in June.

 

Men's and women's 100m backstroke S10

Ukraine's Maksym Krypak will be aiming for more gold in the men's 100m backstroke S10 and he has pretty good reasons for that. He is the current Paralympic champion, back-to-back European Championships gold medallist, and the title holder from the London 2019 Worlds.

Krypak is also the fastest man in the event this year in front of Italy's Stefano Raimondi. The Italian had to settle for a silver medal at the Dublin 2018 Euros, London 2019 Worlds and Madeira 2020 Euros but will be looking at putting an end to Krypak's dominance in Tokyo.

Besides Zsofia Konkoly in the women's 100m butterfly S9, Hungary will be hoping for another medal on day nine. Bianka Pap is the fastest woman in the 100m backstroke S10 this year, as well as a three-time European champion who took silver at the Rio Games five years ago.

Dutch swimmer Lisa Kruger is the London 2019 world champion and another candidate to top the podium in Tokyo. She has the fourth-fastest time this year.

France's Anaelle Roulet is the second-fastest in 2021. She is yet to taste the feeling of winning an international title. The 25-year-old has a World Championships silver from Mexico City 2017 and a silver and bronze at the Europeans from Madeira 2020 and Dublin 2018, respectively.

 

Men's and women's 100m backstroke S14

The men's 100m backstroke S14 finalist will be next in the pool. Australia's Ben Hance is the world record holder and the fastest man in 2021. 

The second-fastest time of the year belongs to Brazil's Gabriel Bandeira. He will be making his Games debut in Tokyo as the gold medallist from the Madeira 2020 European Open Championships in May.

Bandeira beat London 2019 world champion Viacheslav Emeliantsev from the RPC in Portugal and the two may be sharing the podium again this time. 

Competition will be fierce though, as medal candidates in the men's 100m backstroke S14 include Marc Evers of the Netherlands (London 2012 Paralympic champion), USA's Lawrence Sapp (Mexico City 2017 world champion) and Great Britain's Jordan Catchpole (London 2019 Worlds silver).

Great Britain has the top contenders in the women's 100m backstroke S14 with Bethany Firth and Jessica-Jane Applegate.

Firth is the two-time defending Paralympic champion and the world record holder. She set the fastest time of the year in April in Dublin and is the current world champion.

Applegate is the second-fastest this year with a European title from Madeira added to her name. She took bronze in the race at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

 

Men's 50m backstroke S1, men's and women's 50m backstroke S2

Three backstroke events will follow. The men's 50m backstroke S1 has Israel's Iyad Shalabi leading the way as the fastest man in 2021 and European champion from Madeira in May.

Italy's Francesco Bettella is the second-fastest this year and the silver medallist from Madeira 2020. He also took silver at Rio 2016. The bronze medallist from the last Games, Ukraine's Anton Kol rounds up the top three this year. He also took bronze at Madeira 2020.

The men's 50m backstroke S2 has four top candidates to medal. First in line is Brazil's Gabriel Araujo, who leads the 2021 rankings. Ukraine's Roman Bondarenko is the second on the list with a time that gave him the European title at Madeira 2020 in May.

Jacek Czech from Poland and Alberto Abarza from Chile are the most experienced names in the event. Czech is the silver medallist from the last two European Championships and from the London 2019 Worlds. Abarza is the reigning Parapan American Games champion from Lima in 2019 and the World Series 2021 winner.

Following up will be the women's 50m backstroke S2 in which Singapore's Pin Xiu Yip has been the dominant force over the last five years. She is the reigning Paralympic and world champion, as well as the world record holder.

Former member of Parliament in Singapore she set the best time this year at a national competition in July. It is almost three seconds faster than the one set by Japan's Miyuki Yamada who lies second in this year's rankings.

 

Men's 50m freestyle S3, men's 50m freestyle S4

The last three individual finals on day nine belong will be freestyle events.

Reigning world champion Diego Lopez Diaz from Mexico will be trying to add the men's 50m freestyle S3 Paralympic gold to his CV. He has the fastest-time in the race this year.

Right behind Lopez Diaz is Ukraine's Serhii Palamarchuk, the second-fastest Para swimmer of the year and the reigning European champion from Madeira. His compatriot Denys Ostapchenko is third in the rankings. He finished behind Palamarchuk for silver at Madeira 2020 and has a bronze medal from the London 2019 Worlds.

In the men's 50m freestyle S4, another European champion leads the 2021 rankings. Israel's Ami Omer Dadaon will be aiming for gold in his Paralympic debut. 

His main rivals have plenty of Games experience. Japan's Takayuki Suzuki will be heading to his fifth Paralympics with the second-best time of the year.

France's Davide Smetanine has three Paralympic medals to his name, including a gold in this race at Beijing 2008. Czech Republic's Arnost Petracek and the RPC's Roman Zhdanov will seek their first taste of Paralympic glory in the event. Petracek is the Dublin 2018 European champion, while Zhdanov won a bronze medal at the London 2019 Worlds and the Madeira 2020 Euros.

 

Women's 50m freestyle S4, women's 4x100m medley relay 34 pts

Rachael Watson from Australia is coming to Tokyo as the favourite in the women's 50m freestyle S4. She is the world record holder and the defending Paralympic champion. She also set the second-fastest time of the year at the National Trials in June in Adelaide.

Mexico's Nely Miranda is the bronze medallist from Rio 2016 and will try to go two better in Tokyo this time.

The last event on day nine will be the women's 4x100m medley relay 34 pts where Great Britain leads the way as the world record holder and reigning world champion.

Australia will try to defend the Paralympic title won five years ago, while USA has the potential to go all the way as the silver medallist from the last Paralympic Games and World Championships.

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