Canadian Paralympic Committee – Sept. 9, 2016 – RIO DE JANEIRO – Para-swimmer Aurélie Rivard and wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos broke Paralympic records for tonight’s finals and para-cyclists Ross Wilson and Tristen Chernove are also battling for gold to highlight Canadian performances Friday morning at the Paralympic Games.

Rivard, the 20-year-old from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.,  clocked 27.83 seconds for the fastest time in the women’s S10 50-m freestyle heats.

Five other para-swimmers are also headed to finals tonight: Nathan Stein of Surrey, B.C., and Alec Elliot of Kitchener, Ont., in the men’s S10 50-m freestyle; Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., and Sarah Mehain of Vernon, B.C., in the women’s S7 50-m freestyle and Nathan Clement of West Vancouver in the S6 50-m butterfly.

On the track, Lakatos, of Dorval, Que., finished first overall in the heats clocking 14.43 seconds as he looks to improve on his triple silver performance from four years ago in London.

Wilson, of Sherwood Park, Alta., finished second in qualifying in the men’s C-1 3000-m and faces top qualifier Li Zhangyu of China who broke the world record in his morning ride. Chernove, of Powell River, B.C., meanwhile takes on Guihua Liang of China in the C2 3000-m final. Liang qualified first with a Games record.

Michael Sametz of Calgary advanced to the bronze medal race in the C3 3000 after placing third in qualifying.

RIO DE JANEIRO _ What Canada Did on Friday morning at the 2016 Paralympic Games (distances in metres):

Para-athletics

Men’s T53 100m: Brent Lakatos, Dorval, Que., first in heats with a Games record 14.43 seconds and advances to final at 7 :19 p.m. Jean-Philippe Maranda, Ste-Aurélie. Que., 16th in heats does not advance.

Cycling

Men’s C1 3000 individual pursuit: Ross Wilson, Sherwood Park, Alta., second in qualifying advances to gold medal race at 5:41 p.m

Men’s C2 3000 individual pursuit: Tristen Chernove, Powell River, B.C. second in qualifying advances to gold medal race at 6:08 p.m.

Men’s C3 3000 individual pursuit: Michael Sametz, Calgary, third in qualifying advances to bronze medal race at 6:35 p.m.

Goalball

Women’s preliminary – Canada lost to Turkey 12-4 in its opening game

Rowing

LTA Mixed Coxed Four: Canada (Victoria Nolan, Toronto, Meghan Montgomery Winnipeg, Andrew Todd, Thunder Bay, Ont., Curtis Halladay, Sudbury, Ont.,  and coxswain Kristen Kit St. Catharines, Ont., third in their heat to advance to repechage.

Swimming

Men’s S7 50 freestyle:  Jean-Michel Lavallière, Quebec City, 10^th in heats does not advance.

Women’s S7 50 freestyle: Tess Routliffe, Caledon, Ont., and Sarah Mehain, Vernon, B.C. sixth and eighth in heats advance to final at 6:05 p.m.

Men’s S6 50 butterfly: Nathan Clement, West Vancouver, eighth in heats advances to final at 6:11 p.m.

Men’s S10 50 freestyle: Nathan Stein, Surrey, B.C. and Alec Elliot, Kitchener,Ont., fourth and seventh in heats advance to final at 6:45 p.m. Isaac Bouckley, Port Hope, Ont., 13^th, does not advance.

Women’s S10 50 freestyle: Aurélie Rivard (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Que.) first in heats on Paralympic Games record 27.83 seconds to advance to final at 6 :51 p.m. Samantha Ryan, Saskatoon was 18^th and does not advance.

Women’s S9 400 freestyle: Katarina Roxon, Corner Broook, N.L. 11^th in heats does not advance.

Women’s S8 100-m butterfly: Danielle Dorris, Moncton, N.B. 10^th in heats does not advance.

ABOUT TEAM CANADA IN RIO: Canada has a team of 162 athletes competing in 19 sports at the Paralympic Games, Sept. 7 to 18. For more information visit: http://paralympic.ca/team-canada-rio-2016 

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee: www.paralympic.ca 

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For more information, please contact:

Alison Korn

Senior Manager, Media Relations and Communications

Canadian Paralympic Committee

Rio cell: +55 (21) 99033-0131

Email: akorn@paralympic.ca

Martin Richard

Executive Director, Communications and Marketing

Canadian Paralympic Committee

Rio cell: + 55 (21) 99031-7843

Email: mrichard@paralympic.ca

 

Broadcast-quality video highlights are available at SendtoNews.com.

Team Canada photos are available at: http://tinyurl.com/hr4d833