U.S. Paralympic Athletes Earn Five Gold at World Para Swimming World Series

Michelle Konkoly. Photo Courtesy: Kevin McCarthy

U.S. athletes secured eight medals, including five gold, on the second day of the Indianapolis 2018 World Para Swimming World Series at the Indiana University Natatorium. This second leg of the world series circuit features 198 swimmers from 17 countries.

The trio of four-time Paralympic medalist Michelle Konkoly (Eagleville, Pennsylvania/S9), four-time Paralympic medalist McKenzie Coan (Clarkesville, Georgia/S7) and Paralympian Martha Ruether (Allegany, New York/S13) swept the 50-meter freestyle, securing gold, silver and bronze, respectively.

After winning gold medals last night, three U.S. athletes secured additional golds on day two: Thirteen-time Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland/SM8) in the 200 individual medley, Paralympic bronze medalist Robert Griswold (Freehold, New Jersey/S8) in the 100 backstroke and Alyssa Gialamas (Baltimore, Maryland/S5) in the 50 back.

U.S. women also finished 1-2 in the 100 back, with two-time Paralympic medalist Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, North Carolina/S9) and Gia Pergolini (Roswell, Georgia/S13) placing first and second, respectively.

Three women set records: Pergolini with an American and Pan Am Record in the S13 100 back (1:08.71); Leanne Smith (Beverly, Massachusetts) with an American and Pan Am Record in the S3 50 free (50.60); Gialamas with a Pan Am Record in the S5 100 back (1:43.53).

The World Para Swimming Points System is used at World Para Swimming World Series competitions. All athlete results at each world series event will be calculated using a standardized points system. This will ensure that the overall World Para Swimming World Series winner will be the best performing athlete over the duration of the series, meaning that every performance counts. For further explanation, please read here.

The Indianapolis 2018 World Para Swimming World Series concludes Saturday, with the preliminary round beginning at 9 a.m. ET, followed by finals at 5 p.m. Both sessions are free and open to the public.

QUOTES
Hannah Aspden
“It feels wonderful. I’ve been making some changes to my training and trying to get back into it and swim as fast as I can. This is progress. It’s a sign that things are moving in the right direction. I’m excited to see where the future takes me. I’m having a lot of fun hanging out with friends and swimming fast races and seeing all the countries represented here.”

Robert Griswold
“It feels really good. This is just an early part of my season, I’m not taking much rest coming into here. I executed what I needed to do, and I’m ready to move through the rest of the season. I’ve taken a lot tougher of an angle towards training, and I’ve been working harder than I have before, so to come in here and swim as well as I did, I’m happy with it.”

RESULTS
Competition will conclude Saturday with the 100 free, and the 50- and 100-butterfly. Full results of each session can be found here.

— This press release was provided by USA Paralympic Swimming.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

Name*

Email*

2 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Pro Women Fitness

6 years ago

bees knees :p

Thomas A. Small

6 years ago

Congratulations