Australian Paralympic gold medallists Brenden Hall and Tiffany Thomas Kane led the charge for Australia, with both claiming gold medals at the 2019 World Para Swimming World Series on Friday night at the Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Centre.
Hailing from Queensland, Hall (S9) got the Aussies off to a good start, taking the first win of the night in the Men’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class in a time of 4:22.88. Fellow compatriot Logan Powell (S9) received the bronze medal (4:29.37) after finishing behind France’s young prodigy, Ugo Didier (S9).
Eighteen months out from Tokyo 2020 and with the World Para-Swimming Championships fast approaching, Hall said he was pleased to race against high-calibre athletes from around the world.
“I loved being able to have some international competition in our own backyard to start the year off and it’s fantastic that Melbourne has been able to host the beginning of the Series,” Hall said.
“I’m surprised with the win and I know I’ll start to feel better as the weeks go on, and with some extra fine tuning, I’ll be ready for trails in six-weeks’ time.
“It’s always great to get some race practice so I know what’s needed to get there.”
Continuing Australia’s momentum, Dolphin Tiffany Thomas Kane (SB7) claimed the nation’s second gold of the night, finishing first in the 10-athlete field in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class. Recording a time of 43.59, the 17-year-old beat out Ashley Van Rijswijk (SB14) from Wagga Wagga Swimming Club who finished second (37.36) and fellow Aussie representative Madeleine Scott (SB9) took home bronze (37.99).
In a competitive men’s breaststroke field, two-time Paralympian and hometown hero Ahmed Kelly (SB3) claimed the silver medal across 50m in a time of 54.34, with Matthew Ward (SB9) (32.54) placing third and Matthew Levy (SB6) (43.71) securing fourth spot. Akhmetov Anuar (SB13) from Kazakhstan finished first in 31.61.
In a nail-biting finish, Rio golden girl Lakeisha Patterson (S9) and newcomer Jasmine Greenwood (S10) drew for the silver medal according to points score in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Multi-Class. France’s Claire Supiot (S8) claimed the gold in 5:01.61.
Next off the blocks was the Men’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class which saw Australia pick up both the silver and bronze medal. Timothy Hodge (S9) (1:02.93) and Liam Schluter (S14) (59.87) finished second and third respectively after finishing behind Japan’s Keichi Nakajima (S14) (58.07).
The women’s race also saw Australians feature in the medals, with Madeleine Scott (S9) (1:12.04) and Taylor Corry (S14) (1:09.51) coming second and third in the Women’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class, respectively. Local Victorians Ruby Storm (S14) and Emily Beecroft (S9) rounded out the top five with Hong Kong’s Yui Lam Chan (S14) taking home the gold.
In the final two events of the night, Australia added an additional two medals to its tally, recording silvers in the Men’s and Women’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class.
After claiming a bronze medal earlier in the night, young Schluter (S14) finished second (55.25) behind New Zealand’s Cameron Leslie (S4) (1:24.17), while six-time Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Cole (S9) received silver behind close friend and fierce competitor Sophie Pascoe (S9) from New Zealand, who took home the gold (1:01.17).
Fresh out of the pool, dual medallist Queenslander Schluter said he was glad to be reunited with his Dolphin teammates and was delighted with his personal best performance.
“Yeah, it’s good to see all the team again, but the only thing I don’t like is the weather, it’s a bit chilly,” he said.
“Yeah very happy with it (swim). This morning wasn’t a great swim but tonight was an awesome swim, I got under my 1.55 so I’m really happy with that.”
All eight events tonight were swum as multi-class races, meaning athletes from all classifications competed in the same event, with the Para-swimmer recording a time closest to their class world record crowned the winner.
All the action kicks off tomorrow at 9:00am when the Men’s and Women’s 100m Backstroke events begin.
