Aurélie Rivard successfully defended her S10 100m freestyle world title on Saturday at the World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, UK.
Aurélie Rivard started her day strong by dominating the qualifications of the event with a time of 59.88 seconds to easily get her pass for the final.
The Quebecer, world record holder in the discipline, then won the gold medal thanks to her time of 59.97 seconds during the final race. She beat Colombian Maria Paula Barrera Zapata (1.01 seconds) and Hungary’s Bianka Pap (1.16 seconds) to win.
“I feel really good, it was part of my goals to defend my title in the 100m freestyle. I felt a little tired, the weather may not be great, but this is the first time in the year that I’ve swum under the one minute mark. I see it as a step towards the Paralympic Games, I’m happy to have won,” said Aurélie Rivard.
Last year at the World Championships in Portugal, Rivard also won gold in the 100m freestyle, lowering the World Championship record to 59.43 seconds.
This is the second gold medal for Rivard at the worlds in Manchester. She took top honors in the S10 50m freestyle earlier this week.
Montreal’s Arianna Hunsicker was also competing in the S10 100m freestyle final where she finished eighth (1 minute 3.52 seconds).
“I’m a little disappointed with my time, but I was very happy to be able to swim in the final, I would have hoped to be able to do a little better. Usually it’s not that bad,” Hunsicker said.
Two other Quebecers were also in action earlier in the day in Manchester. Zach Zona finished fifth in his qualifying heat in the SM8 200m medley. His time of 2 minutes 46.25 seconds, however, did not allow him to obtain his ticket for the final.
Same story for Clémence Paré in the 200m freestyle S5. The 20-year-old covered the distance in 3 minutes 58.54 seconds, which was not enough to make it to the final.
The Para Swimming World Championships wrap up in Manchester on Sunday. Aurélie Rivard will also be in action in the 100m backstroke S10, an event where she won the bronze medal last year in Portugal.