(Toronto) Aurélie Rivard breathed a sigh of relief after her 400m freestyle final at the Toronto Paralympic Trials on Wednesday evening.
Even if her time was still far from her world record which earned her gold at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, the swimmer experienced her performance at the Pan American Sports Center as a “small victory”. She covered the distance in 4 min 33.64 s, just under 10 s from her planetary reference.
“To be quite honest, I didn’t really know what to expect before my race,” explained Rivard after receiving his “pending” boarding pass for the Paris Games, which will be his fourth (the official selection will not be revealed until Sunday).
“My relationship with the 400 has been so incredible since Tokyo that I had high hopes. I had a lot of doubts too. This time is by far the fastest I have managed to do since Tokyo. I am extremely happy with this and the execution. Now all that’s left to do is add speed to get as close as possible to my world record for Paris. »
Since his dramatic abandonment in the middle of the final at the 2022 World Championships in Portugal, the athlete from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has been dreading the eight-length event. Rescue workers rushed to put an oxygen mask on him.
“I had a big panic attack,” she recalled. Nobody told me, I didn’t name it at the time either, but in hindsight, that’s it. I lost all feeling in my arms, in my eyes. I thought I was going to die. »
On reflection, the representative of the Quebec Region Swimming Club believes that she has suffered the consequences of the pandemic year in hindsight. The isolation, the almost solo lengths and the heavy atmosphere in the Japanese capital ended up wearing him down psychologically.
“I had to reorient my training, review my relationship with sport, try to start from scratch, especially with the 400m. I felt a bit like post-traumatic syndrome. It makes me happy to be able to find comfort and safety in the race. »
At the last World Championships in 2023, the native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu even scratched her name from the final of the event which earned her two Paralympic titles, in 2016 and 2021.
Going back a year, my goal was to finish the 400m. Just do it. It was very, very difficult trying to get back into running, little step by little step. After being comfortable in the water, the next step was to have performance goals. There is a world between 2023 and 2024.
Aurélie Rivard
“I didn’t understand how in a sport that I have been practicing for 20 years, for a race that I have been doing for 16 years, I still managed to convince myself that I was not capable of finishing it,” continued the winner of 10 Paralympic medals. “I had a lot of things to change. There are things we aren’t necessarily taught before we become athletes. There are things you learn with experience. »
After Wednesday evening’s “small victory” and a time which places her at the top of the world rankings for 2024, Aurélie Rivard (category S10) now views Paris with more serenity. Another gold medal in the 400 would be welcome for the woman who lost her first of 2016 when her car was stolen last fall in Montreal.
PHOTO YANNICK LÉGARÉ, QUÉBEC SWIMMING FEDERATION
Aurélie Rivard and Sabrina Duchesne
Sabrina Duchesne (category S7) practically secured her place for her third Paralympic Games thanks to a time of 5 min 24.68 sec, four seconds off her personal best.
“We are getting closer to my best time that I did in Tokyo, which is encouraging for the future in Paris,” said the Rouge et Or swimmer from Laval University.
“I had a lot of injuries and illnesses in the last year, but here I had a good two months of training before the Trials,” rejoiced the 23-year-old athlete. His goal is to lower his personal best next summer in the City of Lights.
Kylie Masse is back
PHOTO NATHAN DENETTE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kylie Masse
Kylie Masse is back. After a rare difficult year, the four-time Olympic medalist re-established herself as a podium contender for the Paris Games by winning the 100m backstroke in 57.94 seconds on Wednesday at the Canadian Trials in Toronto. “I’m very happy,” reacted the 28-year-old Ontario backstroke rider, less than three-tenths from her national record. It’s been three years since I was able to do 57s. So it feels good to achieve that and put together two consistent performances. » In Paris, she will be accompanied by Alberta’s Ingrid Wilm, second in 59.31 s, a time below the Olympic qualifying standard.