PARIS – Sebastian Massabie turned in a record-breaking performance competing at his first Paralympic Games. The 19-year-old from Surrey, B.C., broke his Canadian record in his morning heat Friday then lowered it again in the final to finish fifth in the 100-m S4 freestyle.
Massabie touched the wall in 1:22.53 in the final. He was more than a second faster than his morning time of 1:23.80 which lowered his previous Canadian record by .08.
“This was a great day,” said Massabie, who trains with the Pacific Sea Wolves. “I can’t wait for my other races.”
Swimming in front of the large, loud crowd at the Paris La Défense Arena was a new experience for Massabie.
“This is grand,” he said. “This is 10 times more than I’ve done. It’s pretty good.”
Jy Lawrence, who has coached Massabie since he was 14, was emotional after the race.
“Very proud,” she said. “He handled the pressure really well.”
Lawrence said Massabie made some mistakes in the morning which he corrected in the final.
“He cleaned up some of his breathing patterns,” she said. “He did a job this morning of finishing fast. We just cleaned up some details.”
Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel won the race in 1:20.25. Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki was second in 1:21.71 while Mexico’s Angel de Jesus Camacho Ramirez was third in 1:22.32.
Katarina Roxon, one of Canada’s flagbearers at Wednesday’s opening ceremonies who is competing in her fifth Paralympics, was eighth in the 100-m SB8 breaststroke.
Roxon, of Kippens, N.L., fought back tears after finishing in 1:27.39. The 31-year-old won gold in this event at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and was fourth in Tokyo.
“It’s a tough one,” said the four-time world championship medallist in the event. “The breaststroke is the most technical stroke there is. I’ve been struggling a little bit with it.
“That’s life. You learn from every experience. I’ve always said you can always learn and keep improving.”
Roxon is already looking forward to her next individual event, the 200 IM on Thursday.
“You’re allowed to be sad,” she said. “Take time to grieve whatever the loss is and to process everything. Tomorrow is a brand new day. Time to regroup and refocus on the next thing ahead.”
Spain’s Anastasiya Dmytriv won the race in 1:19.75. Britian’s Brock Whiston was second in 1:21.04 followed by Viktoriia Ishchiulova, a neutral Paralympic athletic, third in 1:24.04.
Canada opened the swimming competition with Aurelie Rivard of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., taking bronze in the 50-m S10 freestyle Thursday.
Canadians will be in the hunt for more medals Saturday.
Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., and Danielle Dorris of Moncton, N.B., will serve up a 1-2 punch in the women’s S7 200-m individual medley. Routliffe won gold in the race at the 2023 Manchester Para Swimming World Championships while Dorris was third. Dorris was fourth in the event as an 18-year-old at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., will swim the S14 200-m freestyle, which he won at Manchester.
A team of 22 athletes is representing Canada in Paris. Canadian swimmers won eight medals (three gold, three silver, two bronze) at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
For full results please see https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/paralympic-games/schedule/para-swimming?day=30-august
People wishing to watch the Paralympics can tune in for CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage in English on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC’s Paris 2024 website (cbc.ca/paris2024) and the CBC Paris 2024 app for Android and iOS devices. In French on ICI TÉLÉ, ICI TOU.TV, Radio-Canada’s Paris 2024 website (Radio-Canada.ca/jeux-paralympiques), and the Radio-Canada Paralympiques app for Android and iOS devices.
The swimming competition ends Sept. 7.