Bronze Medal Alert - Rebecca Dubber Women's Backstroke 100m S7
19 September 2016, 1:46PM
Paralympics New Zealand
Paralympian Rebecca Dubber came from behind to win a bronze medal in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S7 final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games tonight, with compatriot Nikita Howarth finishing in 6th place in the same final. Dubber, who made a slow start, was sixth overall into the split and then powered up the field from the 25metre mark to touch the wall in third place overall. Howarth, who started very well and was fourth at the 50m mark, was overtaken in the final sprint to the end.
The gold medal was won by Liting Ke (China) with Ying Zhang (China) in the silver medal position.
Rebecca Dubber and Nikita Howarth both swam a great heat early on September 8th, finishing first and second with personal best times of 1:23.62 and 1:24.69 respectively. They went into tonight’s final qualifying second and third fastest respectively, with Liting Ke (China) qualifying fastest from heat two.
Rebecca Dubber - comes into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the form of her life, after several difficult years with injury following her 5th placing at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In 2015, Dubber splashed back to the top with two silvers at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. She is currently ranked 1st, 5th and 7th in her three events. Dubber’s full biography can be found here.
Nikita Howarth - came to attention at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, becoming New Zealand’s youngest Paralympian at just 13 – finishing 6th, 9th and 11th despite her age. Since then, Howarth has come into her own, winning two gold medals at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. She is currently ranked 1st, 1st, 3rd and 8th in her four events. Howarth’s full biography can be found here.
Viewers can catch the Team in action throughout the Games on DUKE and together with ONE News coverage, a special highlights programme will air every night on TV ONE and will be available online through TVNZ OnDemand and AttitudeLive.com. Further details https://www.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz-paralympics-schedule
The New Zealand Paralympics Team is 31-strong will compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with an expected global contingent of 4,350 athletes from 160 countries, gathering to compete in the world’s largest multi-sport event for disabled athletes. New Zealand will contest six Para-Sports, chasing a target of 18 medals in total, including 12 gold medals.
