TOKYO — Three-time Paralympian Elizabeth Marks (Colorado Springs, Colorado) dashed to a silver medal in the women’s 50-meter freestyle S6 final after touching the wall in 33.15 on day one of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Marks, who won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke and a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay at the Paralympic Games Rio 2016, came into the evening’s final with the top seed having set a Paralympic record of 33.16 earlier in the day. Despite bettering that time by .01 seconds, Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko was to the right of Marks and splashed out a 33.11 for the top time.
"It’s kind of a newer event for us and my coach has been very patient with me, so we’re still in the learning phase, but we swam our best race," Marks said.
Other top U.S. finishers on the opening night of racing include first-time Paralympians Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland) and Gia Pergolini (Atlanta, Georgia), who finished fifth in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S14 and women’s 100m butterfly S13, respectively.
Coming into tonight’s final with the third-fastest qualifying time, Sapp got out to a fast start and was in first at the 50-meter turn, but Brazil’s Gabriel Bandeira powered through the second half for a Paralympic record of 54.76. Sapp’s time of 57.36 was just less than half a second off of the podium.
Like Sapp, Pergolini came out fast in her first half of her race, a heat that also featured U.S. teammate Makayla Nietzel (Crystal Lake, Illinois). The 17-year old on the top outside lane stayed with the pack and trimmed over a second from her morning’s swim touching the wall in 1:06.46. Nietzel, swimming in the other outside lane, finished in 1:08.00 for the seventh fastest time.
Summer Schmit (Stillwater, Minnesota) and Natalie Simms (Edina, Minnesota) opened up the final’s night for the U.S. in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S9. The Minnesotans, who live about 90-minutes apart, finished side-by-side as first-time Paralympian Schmit placed seventh in 4:56.92 and two-time Paralympian Sims finished eighth in 4:58.55.
In the morning’s opening preliminary session, first-time Paralympian David Abrahams (Havertown, Pennsylvania) placed ninth in the men’s 100-butterfly S13 by swimming a time of 1:00.69. In the women’s 100-meter butterfly S13, Martha Ruether (Allegany, New York) swam a 1:13.08 for thirteenth place. Paralympic rookie Keegan Knott (Lake Villa, Illinois) went 5:00.92 for twelfth place finish in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S9. Matthew Torres (Ansonia, Connecticut) finished tenth clocking 1:01.35 in the men’s 100-meter freestyle S8.
-U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee-