Tess Routliffe is world champion again! Two days after her victory in the SM7 200m medley, the Montrealer defended her title in the SB7 100m breaststroke at the World Para Swimming Championships, followed by her good friend Abi Tripp, the silver medalist.
Routliffe was the first to hit the wall at the finish with a time of 1min 31.91s at the Aquatics Center in Manchester, UK.
“I’m really happy to have been able to defend my title and to have had a good race,” shared Tess Routliffe. It’s also wonderful to have had Abi by my side! Racing is already wonderful, doing it with a teammate takes the experience to another level. »
Tripp stopped the clock at 1:34.39 to claim the first individual medal of his career at worlds. Spaniard Nahia Zudaire Borrezo finished third (1:38.14).
“The feeling is amazing! To get on the podium with a friend, a teammate like Tess, it’s great. I can’t wait to see what we can do in this event at the Paralympic Games in Paris! Abi Tripp told Sportcom.
The bronze medalist does not have very good memories of this event since the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where she was disqualified. Just getting to the final satisfied her, so receiving a medal with Tess Routliffe surpassed her expectations.
“There’s always a bit of stress, but having Tess with me in the call room has helped me a lot to stay relaxed.” We’re here to swim, we like it! It’s fun to represent Canada and to have that experience at the World Championships, with all of our friends who have been cheering us on from the start. You just have to remember that [before the race]. »
Aurélie Rivard, who defended her S10 50m freestyle title at the start of these worlds, finished first in her heat of qualifying for the 400m freestyle on Wednesday. However, the athlete from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu did not participate in the final round at the end of the day.
“Aurélie had to withdraw from the 400m freestyle S10 final for personal reasons which required her immediate attention. She is well supported by the team and will regroup and prepare for the rest of her championships,” Swimming Canada said.
In the morning, Philippe Vachon meanwhile finished fifth in his qualifying heat in the S8 100m butterfly and was unable to take part in the final.
