Huot and Rivard win silver, Roxon takes bronze at IPC world championships
Huot and Rivard win silver, Roxon takes bronze at IPC world championships
July 15, 2015
Swimming Canada - GLASGOW, Scotland – Benoit Huot and Aurelie Rivard both won silver medals and Katarina Roxon couldn’t hold back the tears after a gutsy performance earned her a bronze at the IPC Swimming World Championships Tuesday night.
The parade to the podium increased Canada’s medal count to four, including one gold, after two days of competition.
Huot, competing in his seventh world championships, was philosophical after coming second in men’s S10 200-meter individual medley. Huot is the world-record holder in the event plus the defending Paralympic champion.
“It’s been like this all season,” said the 31-year-old from Longueuil, Que., who won the 200 IM at the 2013 world championships in Montreal. “I thought I could have gone faster.”
Denys Dubrov of the Ukraine won in two minutes, 11.94 seconds. Huot touched the wall in 2:12.50.
“Being second is good,” said Huot. “Knowing what he went, I know I could have won.
“We’ll take it, learn from it, and come back stronger.”
Alec Elliot of Waterloo, Ont., was eighth in 2:16.18.
Rivard, of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., swam a personal best time of 2:30.35 in the women’s S10 200-IM to earn her second medal of the championships.
“That is an awesome time,” said Rivard, who won gold Monday in the 50-m freestyle. “I can’t complain.
“I’m tired and exhausted. IM hurts. It’s always like that but it’s a good pain because I did really well.”
Sophie Pascoe of New Zealand, the world record holder, won in 2:26.51.
It was the seventh world championship medal for the Rivard, 19, who won three silver and two bronze at the 2013 worlds held in Montreal.
Roxon, of Kippens, N.L., could barely contain her emotions after her third-place finish in the S8 100-meter breaststroke. She was fifth after the opening 50 meters but battled back to earn her first individual medal in her fourth world championships.
“I saw the girls go when we were turning and I thought ‘it’s the last 50 of the race, I have to kill it,’” said Roxon, who dealt with knee problems this winter. “I’m just so thrilled with it.
“It’s really important to me. I was really nervous because I didn’t do a lot of breaststroke training because of my knee problems. I’m really happy everything turned out well.”
Her time of 1:21.97 set an America’s record.
Eight Canadians swam in the finals.
For a second consecutive night Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., just missed the podium. The 16-year-old, competing in her first world championships, was fourth in the S7 100-m breaststroke. Her time of 1:39.26 was just .31 of a second behind third-place finisher Oksana Khrul of the Ukraine.
Sarah Mehain of Vernon, B.C., was fifth in 1:46.69.
Routliffe had stormed into the final by shaving three seconds off her own Canadian record. Her time of 1:38.05 in the morning heats shattered the old record of 1:41.28 she set last year.
“I was very nervous during that race,” said Routliffe, who finished fourth in the S7 100-m freestyle Monday in Canadian record time. “I think the nerves got me a little bit.
“It’s a tiny bit disappointing but overall I’m pretty happy.”
Mehain is looking forward to the 200-IM on Thursday.
“This was still a good race (but) not where I wanted to be,” she said. “I am going to keep on working on my breaststroke (and) look forward for my next race.”
Tammy Cunnington of Red Deer, Alta., who began competitive swimming in December, recorded a personal best time of 57.03 seconds to finish eighth in the S4 50-meter final.
“Everything is firing on all cylinders,” she said. “I’m so new still I have a long ways to go.”
Nydia Langill of Mississauga, Ont., just missed turning in a personal best when she finished seventh in the women’s S6 110-m breaststroke in 1:55.17.
The competition, which ends Sunday, has attracted 580 athletes from close to 70 countries to the Tollcross International Swimming Centre. It’s the largest swimming competition before next year’s Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janerio.
All heats and finals will be shown live at http://www.paralympic.org/glasgow-2015Glasgow2015.com. Results can be found at www.paralympic.org/glasgow-2015/schedule/results.
