2016 Rio Paralympic Games: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

Everything you need to follow along live with day one prelims of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Competition begins at 9:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. EST/5:30 a.m. PST) Hit refresh for all the latest coverage.

Heat sheets for day 1 prelims are linked below.

Events:

Men’s 100 backstroke S6
Women’s 100 backstroke S6
Men’s 400 freestyle S8
Women’s 400 freestyle S8
Men’s 100 breaststroke SB9
Women’s 100 breaststroke SB9
Men’s 100 freestyle S4
Women’s 100 freestyle S3
Men’s 100 backstroke S14
Women’s 100 backstroke S14
Men’s 100 butterfly S13
Women’s 100 butterfly S13
Men’s 200 freestyle S5
Women’s 200 freestyle S5

Men’s 100 backstroke S6:

China’s Zheng Tao started off the 2016 Paralympic Games with a bang, swimming a 1:13.59 in the first heat of the meet. This is just off his World Record mark of 1:12.94 set in Glascow last July. Ukraine’s Iaroslav Semenenko had a great second 50 to finish just behind Tao in 1:14.78.

The event really got exciting in heat two, where Tao’s teammate Jia Hongguang blasted to a new S6 World Record in 1:12.27. This will give China the top two seeds in this event followed by Semenenko, Talisson Glock, Oleksandr Komarov, Thijs Van Hofweegen, Aung Myint Myat, and Luo Fangyu.

Women’s 100 backstroke S6:

China’s Lingling Song followed up the impressive showing her male teammates gave in the men’s event. She swam a 1:24.66 breaking Dong Lu‘s mark from the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Keeping the record in the country, Song split a 39.72, two seconds ahead of the closest competitor, and finished ahead of Lu, who swam in heat two.

Lu’s time of 1:26.43 was enough to take the second seed heading into finals. Yelyzaveta Mereshko, Tiffany Thomas Kane, Oksana Khrul, Emanuela Romano, Vianney Trejo Delgadillo, and Natalya Zvyagintseva rounded out the top 8.

Men’s 400 freestyle S8:

China took the top two finishes in heat one of the S8 400 freestyle. Yinan Wang and Haijiao Xu raced together the whole way finishing in 4:41.18 and 4:41.93, respectively. The two consistenly held between 36.2 and 36.7 50 splits throughout the race.

Oliver Hynd dominated the event in heat two cruising to a 4:31.90. USA’s Robert Griswold swam a 4:38.46 to take the second spot. None of the swimmers were near Hynd’s World Record of 4:23.76, but you can certainly expect to see Hynd go after the mark in tonight’s final.

The third through eighth seeds belong to Caio Oliveira, Blake Cochrane, Yinan Wang, Haijao Xu, Josef Craig and Jesse Aungles.

Women’s 400 freestyle S8:

Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson took the first heat of the S8 400 free in 4:57.37. She led the race from start to finish, dominating her heat by over 12 seconds. Teammate Maddison Elliott was the next best finisher in 5:09.85.

In similar fashion to Hynd, USA’s Jessica Long took hold of the women’s race early on. Her time of 4:48.26 was good enough to claim the top seed in dominant fashion, but is off her World Record mark of 4:40.44 set last year in Toronto. Long also holds the Paralympic Record of 4:42.28 from the 2012 Games in London.

Stephanie Millward of Great Britain swam a 4:59.95 to take the third seed, followed by Elliott, Amalie Vinther, Brickelle Bro, Vendula Duskova and Abi Tripp.

Men’s 100 breaststroke SB9:

Ukraine’s Denys Dubrov took the first heat of the men’s 100 breast, finishing in 1:07.92. This was just off Dubrov’s best time of 1:07.71. Unlike the previous events we have seen so far, World Record holder Pavel Poltavstev is not competing at these games. However it will take a lot for anyone to reach his World Record swim of 1:04.02 from the London Games in 2012. Rick Pendelton of Australia took second in the heat swimming a 1:09.38.

Once again, the top seed came out of the second heat. This time around, South Africa’s Kevin Paul blasted a best time of 1:06.19. Duncan Van Haaren of the Netherlands was close behind with a 1:07.33 followed by another Ukraine swimmer, Dmytro Vanzenko in 1:08.72.

Rounding out the top 8 are Lin Furong, Pendelton, Shahin Izadyar and James Leroux. Tonight’s race will go right down to the wire to determine who gets on the podium and in what order.

Women’s 100 breaststroke SB9:

China’s Zhang Meng swam a great back half to win heat one of the 100 breaststroke. Her time of 1:20.84 put her just past Australia’s Paige Leonhardt who finished in 1:21.67 and Great Britain’s Harriet Lee who swam a 1:21.97.

But it was the Netherlands women who stole the show in heat two, as Lisa Kruger broke the World and Paralympic Records in a 1:15.47. She split a fast 34.83 in the first 50 to get the mark. She stole the record (1:16.69) from teammate Chantalle Zijderveld, who swam right next to her finishing second in 1:17.38. Tonight’s race will not only be for gold, but for the World Record as well. The Paralympic mark has stood since the Sydney Games in 2000 when Canada’s Jessica Sloan took it down.

Madeleine Scott took the third seed in 1:19.51, followed by Zhang, Daniela Gimenez, Leonhardt, Harriet Lee and Aliaksandra Svadkouskaya.

Men’s 100 freestyle S4:

The S4 100 free will be another great race in tonight’s final. Not only will there be a fight for gold, for bronze as well. The top two finishers, Jin Zhipeng (China) and Gi Seong Jo (Korea) finished in 1:26.77 and 1:26.82, respectively. They swam in separate heats this morning, but expect a great race in the final, as Zhipeng should go out fast and try to hold off a charging Jo in the back half.

The race for bronze will include three swimmers who all raced to a 1:28. David Smetanine (1:28.19), Darko Duric (1:28.26) and Michael Schoenmaker (1:28.96) will put on a show of their own in the final, racing for their spot on the podium.

Jo’s best time is also just a few tenths off the World Record, which stands at 1:22.43 by Spain’s Richard Oribe from 2009. This could be one of the most exciting races of the finals. Also competing are Gustavo Sanchez Martinez, Andrii Derevinskyi and Jan Povysil.

Women’s 100 freestyle S3:

Olga Sviderska of Ukraine did not waste any time as she swam to a best time and Paralympic Record of 1:39.07. China’s Peng Qiuping was close behind finishing in 1:39.16, which would have also broke the old mark of 1:44.32 set in London in 2012. The second heat featured Zulfiya Gabidullina, who also swam under the old Paralympic Record, finishing in 1:39.17. It is expected that these three will round out the podium in tonight’s final, but the record and gold medal are certainly up for grabs.

Lisette Teunissen finished in a nearby fourth (1:41.82) followed by Alexandra Stamatopoulou, Guofen Meng, Patricia Valle and Maiara Regina Perreira Barreto.

Men’s 100 backstroke S14:

The Paralympic records kept on falling as the session progressed as the Netherlands’ Marc Evers raced to a 1:00.97. This puts him just off the World Record mark of 59.26 set by Viacheslav Emeliantsev in Glascow last year. In Kook Lee of Korea will also be in the mix as he took the second heat in 1:01.68. He was out faster than Evers, and has a best time of 59.88. Both men will have their eyes set on the World Record mark in the final.

The race behind these men will be another good one and will include: Takuya Tsugawa (1:03.49), Won Sang Cho (1:04.93), Wai Lok Tang (1:04.94), Gordie Michie (1:05.21) and Joshua Alford (1:06.69).

Women’s 100 backstroke S14:

Evers’ teammate Marlou Van Der Kulk followed in similar fashion, breaking the Paralympic record in the 100 back with a 1:07.23. This broke the old mark set by Bethany Firth of at the 2012 Games in London.

But Firth did not let that record stand for long, as she re-broke her Paralympic and World Records just moment later in heat two. She swam a 1:04.53, which is over four seconds faster than her winning time of 1:08.93 from London in 2012.

These record-breakers will be joined in the final by Jessica-Jane Appelgate (1:08.41), Jung Eun Kang (1:14.14), Pernilla Lindberg (1:15.54), Janina Breuer (1:16.26), Leslie Cichocki (1:16.80) and Xenia Francesca Palazzo (1:18.26).

Men’s 100 butterfly S13:

Kirill Pankov claimed the first heat of the men’s 100 butterfly finishing in 58.24 ahead of Braedan Jason in 59.77. Muzaffar Tursunkhujaev (58.21) and Dzmitry Salei (58.83) were also under the one-minute mark swimming out of heat two. Thomaz Matera and Raman Salei both swam to a 58.40 in heat three, making the race for the silver in tonight’s final an intense one.

No one is expected to be near Ihar Boki, who broke his own Paralympic Record in 54.54. He was only one tenth of a second off his World Record mark that he set last year. The World Record watch will continue tonight when Boki hits the water.

Also sneaking into tonight’s final is USA’s Tucker Dupree, who finished eighth with a best time of 1:00.13.

Women’s 100 butterfly S13:

Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova scared the Paralympic Record in the opening heat of the women’s 100 fly. Her time of 1:06.77 is just off the mark set by Yvonne Hopf of Germany from the 1996 Atlanta Games. This swim was slightly off her best time, so expect her to swim faster in the final. Anna Stetsenko was second in 1:09.24.

In heat two, Fotimakhon Amilova took down her teammate Muslima Odilova‘s World Record of 1:04.98 by winning the heat in 1:04.72. USA’s Rebecca Meyers was a very close second in 1:04.94, which would have also broken the mark.

Odilova may be saving something for tonight’s final, as she cruised to victory in heat three with a 1:05.92. She had the fastest first 50 out of any swimmer in the event (29.61), so it is likely that she backed off in the end of the race.

Regardless, another great race has been set up for tonight’s final. Toshpulatova ended up with the fourth seed, followed by Alessia Berra (1:07.39), Joanna Mendak (1:08.06), Maria Delgado Nadal (1:08.44) and Stetsenko.

Men’s 200 freestyle S5:

USA’s Roy Perkins dropped five seconds from his best time this morning to claim heat one of the men’s S5 200 freestyle. His time of 2:39.69 was then challenged in heat two by Brazil’s Daniel Dias (2:39.35). Dias is the current World and Paralympic Record holder in this event. His best stands at 2:26.51 from 2010, and he won the event on the Paralympic stage in 2012 with a 2:27.83.

Also qualifying for tonight’s final are: Andrew Mullen (2:43.20), Theo Curin (2:47.47), Cameron Leslie (2:52.21), James Scully (2:53.17), Giovanni Sciaccaluga (2:54.48) and Sebastian Rodriguez (2:55.36).

Women’s 200 freestyle S5:

Inbal Pezaro took heat one in the last event of the session finishing in 3:03.35. She had a strong back half of the race to pass Yao Cuan (3:04.71) of China in the end.

Heat two featured three swimmers under the 3-minute mark. Sarah Louise Rung took the top seed (2:54.73) followed closely by Zhang Li (2:55.67) and Teresa Perales (2:56.53). Also competing in the final will be Joana Maria Silva (3:12.16), Anita Fatis (3:14.40) and Alyssa Gialamas (3:16.22).

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