(Photo: Alessandra Cabral/CPB)
Ten swimmers beat the index established by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) to qualify for the Paris-2024 Paralympic Games this Friday (3), the second day of the International Swimming Open in the sport. They all add up to others 13 athletes who achieved the result at the opening of the competition.
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In the 50m freestyle event in the S10 class (physical-motor impairment), the same one in which he won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Phelipe Rodrigues from Pernambuco scored 23.96, beating the rate for Paris, which is 25.06. The result puts the 33-year-old swimmer close to his fifth participation in a Paralympic Games.
“Beating the index is always good. I’m happy to represent Brazil in the biggest competition in the world. My result was good, but I know I need to improve a little more to compete for a medal. Being on my way to my fifth participation in the Games, remaining among the elite of world swimming through all these cycles, is very significant. As incredible as it may seem, the pressure only increases. There is experience, but also pressure, including my own, for my story”, said the athlete.
Gold medalist in Tokyo, Wendell Belarmino celebrated having surpassed the index after being left out of the World Cup in Manchester last year while dealing with a series of injuries. The swimmer completed this Friday’s 50m freestyle race in 26.49, while the rate to be achieved was 26.67.
“I am really happy. I had injuries to both shoulders and my knee, and I almost didn’t have to undergo surgery. This shook me a lot, I had doubts if I would be able to return to my best. Being close to a second edition of the Games is wonderful. The main thing to achieve the result was the support of the family and Praia Clube. This all influenced and continues to greatly influence my performance. I managed to meet my goal of doing the index first thing in the morning and I believe that, in the afternoon, in the final, I should swim even better”, said the swimmer.
Other indices
Mariana Gesteira from Rio de Janeiro, bronze in the 100m freestyle event in the last edition of the Games, achieved the index by swimming the 50m freestyle in 28.25, a time faster than the 28.37 needed to qualify for Paris. Soon after, in the finals of the day, the athlete still achieved a stronger mark of 27s77, the best time in her class and also in the S10 in 2024. In addition to her, Beatriz Carneiro from Paraná, bronze in the 100m breaststroke in Tokyo, obtained the mark of 1min16s92 in the same race, below the 1min17s96 required.
Patrícia Pereira da Silva (S4, physical-motor impairment), from Minas Gerais, completed the 50m freestyle in 40s65, below the 42s95 defined by the CPB. The athlete was a bronze medalist in Tokyo, in the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay, 20 points. In addition to the Paralympic medalists, Alan Kleber Basílio from Paraná also beat the index in the 50m race in class S4 (physical-motor impairment) and could get his first call-up to the Paralympic Games.
“I was very happy with the result. It is the culmination of a lot of work. I had been looking for this time and it came at the right time. I just want to thank everyone for their support. The Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of sport for everyone, it is a dream that is getting closer every day”, said Alan, who became interested in Paralympic swimming after watching the Rio 2016 Games.
Another four athletes reached the index this Friday: Laila Suzigan from Minas Gerais (S6, physical-motor impairment), Débora Carneiro from Paraná (S14, intellectual disability), Roberto Alcalde Rodriguez from Rio Grande do Sul (S6, physical-motor impairment) and the Minas Gerais João Pedro Brutus (S14). In addition to them, swimmer Jenifer Rocha, from class SB7 (physical-motor impairment), swam with a time below the index in the 100m breaststroke event, but the athlete does not meet all the other CPB qualification criteria to be eligible for the call-up.
Continental records
Furthermore, the day also saw two records from the Americas broken in the Paralympic CT. One of them was obtained by Lídia Cruz from Rio, who scored 38.99 in the 50m freestyle event for class S4. The previous mark was held by Mexican Miranda Herrera, who swam the race in 39.52 seconds in July 2016, in Canada. Previously, Lídia had already beaten the index established by CPB at the opening of the International Open.
Another continental mark was broken by Esthefany Rodrigues from São Paulo in the 200m medley race in class S5. The swimmer clocked a time of 3min43s87. The previous record was held by Susana Schnarndorf from Rio Grande do Sul, who completed the distance in 3min44s51 in June 2016, in Germany. The mark, however, was not enough for her to break the index for the Paris-2024 Games.
Journalist from Espírito Santo graduated from PUC-SP and lover of Olympic and Paralympic sports.
