Two Canadian competitors secured medals at the Para swimming world championships in Singapore, with two national records being set on the men’s side. Danielle Dorris claimed silver in the women’s 100m backstroke S7, while Mary Jibb earned bronze in the 100 freestyle S9 in her second medal achievement at the event. Reid Maxwell and Sebastian Massabie also etched their names into the Canadian record books.
Canada’s medal tally now stands at five, consisting of one gold, one silver, and three bronze medals, with the competition scheduled to conclude on Saturday. Dorris finished the women’s 100m backstroke S7 final in 1:23.10, securing the silver medal just one second behind the gold medallist, Veronika Korzhova of Ukraine. In her earlier heat, Dorris clocked 1:22.13, while her personal best remains at 1:21.91 from the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo.
Hailing from Moncton, N.B., Dorris recently excelled at the Canadian short-course championships in Sherbrooke, Que., where she set world records in the 100m individual medley and twice in the 50m butterfly S7 events. She expressed confidence following her success in the 25m pool, looking forward to competing in the long-course world championships in Singapore.
Jibb, a native of Bracebridge, Ont., showcased her talent by setting Canadian records in the 100m butterfly S9 event and later claiming bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle final. Jibb’s time of 1:02.71 placed her 3.52 seconds behind gold medallist Alexa Leary of Australia, who set world and championship records earlier this year. The young swimmer will participate in three more individual races during the championships, starting with the 400m freestyle on Thursday.
On the men’s side, Maxwell set a new Canadian record by clocking 59.57 seconds in the men’s 100m freestyle S8 heats. The amputee, born without his right leg, improved on his performance in the final, finishing in fourth place with a time of 58.38 seconds. Sebastian Massabie, representing the Pacific Sea Wolves from Surrey, B.C., broke the S5 Canadian record in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle events, adding the SM5 mark with a time of 3:30.55. Despite not advancing to the final, Massabie displayed a strong performance.
Other notable Canadian results on Wednesday included Nicolas-Guy Turbide from Quebec City finishing 4th in the men’s 100m back S13, Abi Tripp from Kingston, Ont., securing 7th place in the women’s 100m freestyle S8, Aly Van Wick-Smart from Toronto placing 11th in the women’s 50m back S3, and Jordan Tucker from Guelph, Ont., finishing 13th in the women’s 50m back S4.