Canada’s Aurélie Rivard clinched a bronze medal during the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California. The 30-year-old athlete from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, secured third place in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final, competing against swimmers from the S6-11 and S13 categories. Rivard, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist in the S10 400 freestyle event, garnered 933 points with a finishing time of 4 minutes 37.04 seconds.
The gold medal in the same race was won by Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson, an S9 swimmer, who amassed 986 points with a time of 4:40.35. The top spot initially belonged to S10 American Ali Truwit, clocking 4:31.52, but earned 971 points. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, placed eighth with 848 points after finishing in 4:47.89.
Points in the competition are based on the proximity of a swimmer’s time to the world record standard for their class. Rivard, who recently returned to international competitions after a hiatus, expressed her joy and determination after the race. In other Canadian results, Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, British Columbia, finished fourth in the men’s 100m breaststroke final, where Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan set a world record.
Viewers can catch live coverage of the Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. The Day 3 preliminaries commence on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the final evening session at 8:30 p.m. ET.