Aurélie Rivard from Canada secured a bronze medal during the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California. The 30-year-old, a three-time Paralympic champion in the S10 400 free category, finished third in the women’s 400m freestyle final. Rivard earned 933 points with a time of 4:37.04, coming in behind Lakeisha Patterson from Australia, who took gold with 986 points in 4:40.35. Meanwhile, Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, placed eighth with 848 points in 4:47.89.
The point system is based on how close a swimmer’s time is to the world record standard for their classification. Rivard expressed her delight at returning to international competition after a year, emphasizing her commitment to improving her performance. In other Canadian results, Nicholas Bennett finished fourth in the men’s 100m breaststroke final, and Reid Maxwell placed fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle event.
The Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the final session at 8:30 p.m. ET.
