U.S. Paralympics Open: More Records Fall on Final Day of Swimming

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, December 8. COMPETITION concluded Saturday night at the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships with three young U.S. Elite and National Team athletes continuing to improve on their existing records at the University of Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center.

Kate Gibbs took more than seven seconds off her previous best time in the S9 200m butterfly, while Roy Perkins and Cortney Jordan continued to cut time in the S5 100m free and S7 100m backstroke, respectively.

All three athletes will look to make their first U.S. Paralympic Team when they go to the University of Minnesota for the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Swimming, April 3-5.

At the conclusion of the event, awards were presented to Brazil's Daniel Dias and Australia's Katrina Porter as the top male and female swimmers of the meet. Dias finished the event with a bang, setting a new world record in the men's S5 100m backstroke by nearly four seconds. Porter, meanwhile, also had a strong meet in the backstroke, setting one world record and two FESPIC records.

The three-day competition featured athletes from 19 countries, and the strong turnout had event staff feeling good about the way Paralympic swimming competitions have grown in North America.

"The growth of these events over the last three years has been astonishing," said competition manager Queenie Nichols. "We were running events in 2005 with 120 athletes, and this competition had 267. We're pleased to see the sport grow in North America the way it has, and the way the international community has started to bring more and more athletes to these events is exciting, as well."

Click here to view full results PDF file.

Special thanks to U.S. Paralympics for contributing this report.

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