Canadian swimmer Sebastian Massabie set a new world record by winning gold at the Paralympic Games on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Toronto finished in a time of 35.61 seconds in the men’s 50-metre freestyle S4 final.
Massabie improved his Paralympic record of 36.95 seconds, set in the morning heats on Friday. He broke the world record of 36.25 seconds, which had been held by Israeli Ami Omer Dadaon since June 2022.
Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki took the silver medal (36.85s), while Dadaon took the bronze medal (37.11).
It was the first Paralympic medal of Massabie’s career, as he makes his Games debut.
“It means everything to me,” Sebastian Massabie said when asked what swimming means to him.
Suffering from cerebral palsy which affects the left side of his body, the swimmer finished fifth in the 100-metre freestyle and sixth in the 200-metre freestyle earlier at the Paralympics.
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