There were jubilant scenes as Portugal’s Susana Veiga delivered the host nation’s first ever gold medal and smashed the European record on the final day of the Madeira 2020 European Open Para Swimming Championships on Saturday (22 May).
The hosts had waited a week at the
Penteada Olympic Swimming Pools Complex for the home favourite’s 50 freestyle
S9 race and the result could not have been sweeter.
It was the climax to a dramatic last
day which also saw Italy overtake Ukraine at the top of the European Open
Medals Championship medals table after the Italian relay team beat the rivals
and set a world record in the final race of the competition.
“To be honest, I can’t express how am
I feeling right now. I broke the European record from Sarai Gascon who is such
an amazing swimmer, and I also did it here in Madeira,” said an emotional
Veiga, who was congratulated by the athletes in the race.
“We are rivals inside of the pool,
but we all have the same feelings, and we respect each other. It’s amazing to
see the reaction of support from other athletes,” the Portuguese added.
Veiga went out fast in the race and
held on to the lead beating European record holder Spain’s Sarai Gascon into
second place in 28.85 and her compatriot Nuria Marques Soto was third.
There were no spectators due to
COVID-19 restrictions but that did not dampen the excitement in the complex as
her teammates cheered from the stands as she powered to the wall first. It was
Portugal’s first gold medal in the six editions of the Europeans.
ITALY TAKES OVERALL TITLE
There was high drama at the top end
of the table when Italy overtook Ukraine on the last race of the competition in
the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay 34pts.
The Italian team beat off a challenge
from the Ukrainians and lowered their own world record set at London 2019 World
Championships as Simone Barlaam swam very fast in the last leg to hit the wall
in 3:46.06. The Russians took bronze.
There were 20 medals up for grabs on
the final day. Ukraine was ahead of Italy in the overall European Open
Championships medals standings after a stunning penultimate day where the team
won nine golds. But it was Italy which stepped up on Saturday with eight victories
to Ukraine’s three.
The Italian team was still one gold
behind before the final two relay races. First, they won the women’s 4x100m
freestyle 34pts with Hungary second and Spain third. Then Barlaam, Stefano
Raimondi, Antonio Fantin and Federico Morlacchi grabbed the victory in the
closing event.
The final overall scores were Italy
34 gold, 26 silver, 20 bronze, with Ukraine 33 golds, 32 silver, 28 bronze and
Russia 25 gold, 26 silver, 32 bronze.
Madeira 2020 was an Open
Championships, which included athletes from outside Europe preparing for the
Tokyo Paralympic Games in August. In the medals table for only European
athletes, the results were Ukraine first with Italy in second and Russia third.
Saturday also saw outstanding
performances from Italy’s Giula Terzi, who won her fourth individual gold in
the 100m freestyle S7, and Carlotta Gilli who also claimed her fourth title in
the 200m individual medley SM13.
Simone Barlaam won his third gold of
the competition in 50m freestyle S9, as did Francesco Bocciardo in the men’s
100m freestyle S5 and Monica Boggioni in the women’s 100m freestyle S5.
Federico Bicelli won his first in the 100m freestyle S7.
KRYPAK MAKES IT SIX OUT OF SIX
Ukraine’s Maksym Krypak ended his
phenomenal week with his sixth gold medal. He beat Italy’s Stefano Raimondo
into second place for the sixth time in the 100m backstroke S10.
“I am very happy because these are
the best results I could have achieved in Madeira,” he said. On his biggest
rival Raimondi, he added: “He is always behind me. I didn’t see him in this
race. He was really close, but I had a great final from start to finish.”
His teammate Denys Ostapchenko
claimed victory in the 200m freestyle S3. Ukraine bagged a one-two victory in
the men’s 400m freestyle S11 with Mykhailo Serbin ahead of teammate Viktor
Smyrnov.
There was also a sixth gold medal for
Belarus’s Ihar Boki in the 200m individual medley SM13. In another stunning
victory of the week, he led from the front and hit the wall four seconds ahead
of France’s Alex Portal who battled with Ukraine’s Oleksii Virchenko into
third.
Brazil’s Gabriel Bandeira also
notched up his sixth European Open title in the 100m butterfly S14 breaking an
Americas record for the eighth time in Madeira. Argentina’s Lautaro Maidana
Cancions took silver and Russia’s Mikhail Kuliabin bronze.
At the beginning of the week,
Bandeira had been an unknown quantity but he quickly lit up the S14 class with
his powerful displays, particularly over the last 50m of his races.
“I have won six gold medals, but I
was going for the world record today. I came close to it in the training, but I
was tired and couldn’t do it,” he said as he looks to Tokyo 2020. “I want to
fight for medals there. It is my dream. These results that I achieved, give me
confidence going forward.”
Great Britain’s Jessica-Jane
Applegate retained her European title and claimed her fourth gold of the
competition, in the 100m butterfly S14. Austria’s Janina Falk took silver and
Germany’s Janina Breuer bronze.
“That was really hard, my legs are
really in pain right now. But it makes it so much easier when you have such
great rivals. Each of them is my good friend outside of the pool and they make
me enjoy this experience even more,” Applegate said.
Her teammate Eleanor Robinson got off
to a great start to claim victory in the 50m butterfly S6.
BACK TO MADEIRA IN 2022
Hungary also had a great finish to an
outstanding week. Bianka Pap took her fourth title on day seven in the 100m
backstroke S10.
“I am really happy. It has given me
so much confidence going forward, especially because we are in the Paralympic
year. I am looking forward to Tokyo.”
Russia’s Andrei Kalina also
celebrated his win in the men’s 100m backstroke SB8. “It is wonderful to be a
winner. I am proud of what I achieved in Madeira. The Paralympic story is
wonderful, and I am happy to be part of it and to see it growing.”
His teammate Viktoriia Ischiulova won
her fourth gold in the 100m breaststroke SB8 while Andrei Granichika triumphed
in the men’s 50m butterfly S6.
The world’s best will return to
Madeira next year for the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships from 12 to 18
June.
Full results of the European Para
Swimming Open Championships can be found on the Madeira 2020 page https://www.paralympic.org/madeira-2020/schedule-results/
Pictures of the Madeira 2020
Europeans for editorial use available on https://www.flickr.com/photos/paralympic/albums/
Highlights of all seven days of
competition on World Para Swimming website http://www.worldparaswimming.org/
The International Paralympic
Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement.
The IPC supervises the organisation
of the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International
Federation for ten sports, for which it oversees and co-ordinates the World
Championships and other competitions, including swimming.
The IPC is committed to enabling
Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport
opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite
level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which
include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
For further information, please
contact Rafael Maranhao, IPC Public Relations Senior Manager
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