Canada's Massabie smashes world record in golden swim for 1st Paralympic medal
CBC Sports | Posted: September 6, 2024 5:46 PM | Last Updated: September 6
19-year-old sets mark of 35.61 seconds in men's S4 50m freestyle
Sebastian Massabie's first Paralympic medal is golden.
The 19-year-old Canadian took top spot in the men's S4 50-metre freestyle with a world-record swim on Friday at Paris La Défense Arena.
Massabie touched the wall first in a time of 35.61 seconds. Japan's Takayuki Suzuki scored silver in 36.85 seconds, while Israel's Ami Omer Dadaon — the previous world-record holder — rounded out the podium with bronze in 37.11 seconds.
"It feels really great," Massabie told CBC Sports' Benoît Huot poolside.
The Canadian, who has cerebral palsy, had previously set a Paralympic-record time of 36.95 seconds in qualifying.
WATCH | Massabie wins gold medal:
Massabie, who was born in Toronto but lives in Surrey, B.C., burst onto the scene at national-team trials in May, where he broke six Canadian records and one world record in the S4 50m butterfly.
"Everything. It means everything to me," Massabie said when asked what swimming means to him after the race.
Massabie trains with his province's Pacific Sea Wolves under coach Jy Lawrence. The Paris Games not only marked his Paralympic debut, but also his first major international meet.
Earlier in the meet, he broke his Canadian records in both heats and finals of the 100 and 200 free, finishing fifth and sixth.
"At trials he broke all the national records but they were in the morning and he really struggled with putting together best times at night," Lawrence said. "That has been the focus since May, is finding ways to be better at night, still going those best times in the morning but making slight adjustments at night.
"I'd say we were successful."
Rivard misses podium in final event
Four other Canadians already featured in swimming finals on Friday.
In the women's S10 100m backstroke, Paris medallists Katie Cosgriffe and Aurélie Rivard placed fifth and eighth, respectively.
With a time of 1:09.56, the 18-year-old Cosgriffe nearly reached her second podium at her debut Games, falling just 0.12 seconds short of French bronze medallist Emeline Pierre. Hungary's Bianka Pap soared to gold in 1:07.97, while American Alexandra Truwit claimed bronze in 1:08.59.
Cosgriffe, from Burlington, Ont., claimed bronze in the 100m butterfly on Tuesday.
Rivard, swimming her final race of these Games after already capturing a medal of each colour, was last to touch the wall in 1:11.05. She'll leave Paris with 13 career Paralympic medals.
Alec Elliot of Kitchener, Ont., placed seventh in the men's S10 100m backstroke with his time of 1:04.85.
Mary Jibb, a first-time Paralympian from Muskoka, Ont., placed eighth in the women's 100m butterfly S9 final with a time of 1:13:60.
The 17-year-old's best finish in Paris is fifth place in the 100m backstroke.