PARIS – Sebastian Massabie put an exclamation point on the penultimate day of swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Massabie won the men’s 50-m freestyle S4 in a world record 35.61 Friday to capture Canada’s first ever medal in the S4 sport class. Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki finished second in 36.85, while previous world record holder Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel was third in 37.11. Massabie knocked .64 off Dadaon’s previous mark, taking an early lead and finishing strong.
“I feel really, really happy, excited, and proud of myself,” said 19-year-old from Surrey, B.C., who trains with Head Coach Jy Lawrence at the Pacific Sea Wolves.
“He handled the pressure really well and he came away with what our goal was here,” Lawrence added.
Massabie entered the final seeded first after advancing through his preliminary heat with a Paralympic and Canadian record 36.95. Earlier in the meet he broke his Canadian records in both heats and finals of the 100 and 200 free, finishing fifth and sixth.
“At trials he broke all the national records but they were in the morning and he really struggled with putting together best times at night,” Lawrence said. “That has been the focus since May, is finding ways to be better at night, still going those best times in the morning but making slight adjustments at night. I’d say we were successful.”
Massabie is one of 10 Paralympic rookies on this year’s team. He described his first Games experience “really wonderful, five stars, really great.”
Two fellow rookies were among the four other Canadians competing in finals Friday. The women’s 100-m backstroke S10 saw newcomer Katie Cosgriffe finish fifth (1:09.56), while four-time Paralympian Aurelie Rivard was eighth (1:11.05) a night after winning the 400-m freestyle for her third medal of the Games and 13th of her career.
Cosgriffe, owner of a bronze medal in the 100-m butterfly, had mixed feelings about the race, which saw her just .12 behind France’s Emeline Pierre for bronze.
“I just wanted to leave it all in the pool and that’s exactly what I did. I can’t really control what anyone else did. I’m still happy with how I raced it and I gave it my all. It wasn’t quite enough but it is what it is,” said the 18-year-old from Burlington, Ont.
“I would have liked to have more. Just from how I swam this season I knew that I was capable of being Top 3. It’s been a long week, we’ve been in France for a long time.”
Rivard, who captured silver in the event three years ago in Tokyo, expected this year’s race would be more challenging.
“I knew coming into this meet that it was going to be a tough one because the field was faster than previous editions, but also because the 400 was the night before. I knew I was going to have to work with a little bit less energy,” she said.
She highlighted the accomplishments of rookies such as Cosgriffe and Massabie in establishing themselves on the Paralympic scene.
“There were so many rookies here on this team for probably the first time in a decade. It was amazing to see the stars in their eyes. I could see myself a lot in them when I was at my first Games too. They all underestimated the crowd, they didn’t expect it, they were so amazed and it was so nice to see,” said the 28-year-old from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
“It’s also motivating for older guys like me to keep up with the young people. Hopefully we bring them as much as they bring us and I know that when we go the team will be well taken care of. I’m excited to see them involved in the sport in the next few Games.”
Canada’s other finalists Friday were veteran Alec Elliot, who finished seventh in the men’s 100-m backstroke S10 (1:04.85) and rookie Mary Jibb, who came 8th in the women’s 100-m butterfly S9 (1:13.60).
Canada’s team of 22 Para swimmers heads into the final day with 11 medals so far in Paris (four gold, four silver, three bronze). That surpasses the total Canada won three years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (three gold, three silver, two bronze), as well as the Rio 2016 Games (four gold, two silver, two bronze).
For full results please see https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/paralympic-games/schedule/para-swimming?day=6-september
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.