Medals flow at the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships

Day 2 of the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Centre in California saw the NZ Para-Swim team win a total of two gold medals and world record; and one silver medal.

There were terrific swims by all the NZ Para-Swimmers who competed. The finals session started with the Women’s 400m free and Rebecca Dubber swam a brilliant race to claim the Silver medal in her fastest time  of 05:32.07 since the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Next up was Tayla Clement (S9) who recorded a PB time of 05:30.54 placing her 6th in the final. Mary Fisher (S11) was not to be outdone by her teammates and swam a world’s best and PB of 05:18.12 to claim the Gold Medal.

After a brilliant PB in her heat swim of 0:36.28 in the S7 Women’s 50m Fly this morning Nikita Howarth was the fastest qualifier for the final. She swam a very determined race and led from the start to record a very fast 0:35.35...another terrific PB for Nikita and a Gold Medal.

The Men’s 100m fly was next and Jesse Reynolds and Christopher Arbuthnott kept the NZ flag flying. Jesse swam a great PB to finish 4th in 01:05.34...dropping 1.74 seconds off his previous best. After establishing a PB in the heats (1:08.47) Christopher made his first international final and was placed 5th in a smart time of 1:08.76.

Both Christopher (S9) and Daniel Gaualofa (S10) competed in the heats of the Men’s 50m free this morning. Both established PB’s but narrowly missed their respective finals.

So far over 2 days competition the NZ team has amassed 16 PB swims with each swimmer establishing at least one personal best. The medal tally stands at 4 Gold and 1 Silver.

Tomorrow the team have another strong day with the Women’s 100m backstroke, Men’s 100m free, Men’s 100m breaststroke and the Women’s 34 point 4 x 100m Medley relay.


Results for Day 2 finals:

Day 2: Thurs 7 Aug (US time) and Fri 8 Aug (NZT)   
Rebecca Dubber Womens 400m Freestyle S7 05:32.07 Silver
Tayla Clement Womens 400m Freestyle S9 05:30.54 6th
Mary Fisher Womens 400m Freestyle S11 05:18.12 Gold and World Record
Nikita Howarth Womens 50m Butterfly S7 00:35.35 Gold
Jesse Reynolds Mens 100 Butterfly S9 01:05.34 4th
Chris Arbuthnott Mens 100 Butterfly S9 01:08.76 5th

Note – the 2014 Pan-Pacific Para-Swimming Championships is taking place in Pasadena, California, USA from 6 – 10 August. Swimmers from 19 countries are competing.