Tess Routliffe felt back where she belonged and Nicholas Bennett rose to the occasion for a pair of Paralympic Games silver medals in the pool Saturday.
Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., took silver in the women’s 200-metre individual medley eight years after the same result in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The 25-year-old didn’t compete in Tokyo three years ago because of a broken back she suffered when a barbell fell on her during a weight-training session.
“It’s been eight years since I’ve been at a Paralympic Games. That feeling is kind of indescribable,” Routliffe said. “I’m back in my happy place. I’m able to be Tess. I’m able to race.”
WATCH | Routliffe swims to silver:
Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., won a silver medal in the women’s 200-metre individual medley SM7 final, while Danielle Dorris of Moncton, N.B. placed sixth.
Bennett of Parksville, B.C., knocked over half a second off his previous best time in the men’s 200-metre freestyle to gain the first Paralympic medal of his career.
The 20-year-old, who is autistic, was beaten for gold by Britain’s William Ellard in a world-record time of one minute 51.30 seconds.
“It’s been two years since I dropped time in that race,” Bennett said.
“I’m actually ecstatic. I left everything in the pool and I’m currently feeling like I’m trying not to pass out. Absolutely gassed. There’s nothing left in the tank right now.”
WATCH l Bennett claims 200m freestyle silver in Paris:
Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., finished second in the men’s 200-metre freestyle S14 final, behind only William Ellard of Great Britain, who won with a world record time.
Canada’s para swim team collected three medals in the first three days of racing at La Defense Arena, but awaited the first gold medal heading into Sunday.
Aurélie Rivard of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., was a bronze medallist in the 50-metre freestyle to open the meet.
Routliffe surged over the final 100 metres of the breaststroke and freestyle legs to vault from fifth to second behind victor Mallory Weggemann of the United States.
Dorris’s stronger event is still to come as the Moncton swimmer is the defending champion in the 50-metre butterfly.
“For Tess, having come from her Games in Rio, a silver medal in the same event, to Tokyo, breaking her back and not being able to compete, to coming here and performing the way she is, it’s incredible,” Dorris said.
“With Nick, I’m so happy for him as well. He had his first Games in Tokyo. He was just a little baby there, to now being an adult here and winning his first Paralympic medal.”
Routliffe was born with shortened limbs and Dorris with underdeveloped arms. They race the women’s SM7 classification. They kept each other relaxed in the ready room before racing each other Saturday.
“Just goofing off. She was dancing and I was laughing at her,” Dorris said.
WATCH | Routliffe speaks after winning silver:
Eight years after winning a Paralympic silver medal, Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., says she is back in her happy place after winning silver at Paris 2024.
Bennett was four-tenths of a second back of Ellard at the final turn, but the Brit pulled away with a mighty final 50.
“It’s anybody’s race until the end and he just went after it,” Bennett said. “That was a world-class swim for a world-class athlete.
“The last 50 is always the hardest for me.”
Bennett competes in the S14 class for athletes with an intellectual impairment. He’s coached by his sister Haley Bennett.
“I don’t think I’d be the athlete that I am without her,” Bennett said.
WATCH | Bennett discusses 1st-ever Paralympic medal:
Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C. was at a loss for words after winning a silver medal at Paris 2024.
Routliffe’s sister Erin, who plays tennis for New Zealand, and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski are the defending U.S. Open women’s doubles champions. The duo was about to play a second-round match in New York following the swim race.
“She plays in like an hour. I have the day off tomorrow so I can watch Erin,” said Tess, who had the bulk of family members with her in Paris.
“This happens every four years. We were there last year. We supported her,” Routliffe said.
She’s the reigning world champion in the 100 breaststroke, which is Thursday.
“I was lucky to have the first two nights to watch, got to hear the crowd which is so loud, so insane,” Routliffe said.
“This France crowd is … it reminds me of Rio. It’s the Brazilians, but in French.”
Lakatos slides to 7th in 5k
Sitting second for most of his race, Canada’s Brent Lakatos seemed primed to win his 12th career Paralympic medal.
Instead, a chaotic final two laps left the Dorval, Que., native crossing the finish line in seventh place.
American Daniel Romanchuk eventually pulled away for gold in 10 minutes 55.28 seconds in a race where less than two second separated the winner from eighth place.
The 10-man field was bunched tightly for the remainder of the race, with Hug even needing to pull out to Lane 4 at one point. Lakatos, meanwhile, remained firmly in podium position.
But the 44-year-old appeared to lack the top-end speed for a sprint finish, fading and clocking a time of 10:56.73.
Hug surged from Lane 4 to a silver medal at 10:55.78, while Kuwait’s Faisal Alrajehi took bronze at 10:55.99.
Lakatos returns to the track Sunday at 6:50 a.m. ET for Round 1 of the 400m, with the final going later in the same day.
Pemble narrowly misses podium
Canadian track cyclist Mel Pemble narrowly missed the podium in the women’s C1-3 500-metre time trial on Saturday, finishing 0.3 seconds away from her first career Paralympic medal.
The 24-year-old from Victoria clocked a factored time of 38.610 seconds in the six-rider final at the National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.
Germany’s Maike Hausberger (C2) followed Pemble and ultimately bested her for bronze, while Australia’s Amanda Reid (C2) and China’s Qian Wangwei (C1) captured gold and silver, respectively. Qian set a world record in her category with a finish time of 40.878.
The event combines the C1 to C3 classifications, with factored times determining the final standings.
C3 world record
Pemble set a C3 world record earlier on Saturday with a blazing qualifying time of 38.512 in her Summer Games debut, advancing as the fourth-fastest rider among the field of 11.
Pemble, a former Paralympic alpine skier, broke the mark of 39.093 set by Australia’s Aniek van den Aarssen on the same track at the 2022 world championships.
“I know it’s going to sweeten the pot a little knowing I set that world record and it will make that fourth place sting a little less in the end,” Pemble said after the final.
“But it’s going to take a little while to get over that.”
Pemble posted an average speed of 46.739 kilometres an hour in her qualifying heat.
WATCH l Pemble pedals to world record:
Mel Pemble of Victoria clocked a time of 38.512 seconds in the qualifying stage, to break the world record for the women’s C3 500-metre time trial at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Pemble would go on to finish fourth in the final.
”She made sure she had an optimal environment for her training leading into the Games and she got the result she fully deserved,” said Canada’s Para cycling head coach Sébastien Travers.
Pemble, who was born with cerebral palsy, claimed silver in the same event at this year’s world championships in Rio de Janeiro last March. She is a two-time world champion in the women’s C3 omnium competition, despite only switching sports in 2020.
Pemble enjoyed a successful alpine skiing career that saw her reach the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Levine knocked out of boccia singles
Facing a tall task against the world’s top-ranked player, Canada’s Alison Levine nearly pulled off an upset for the ages.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
After taking a 2-0 lead in their BC4 quarterfinal match, Levine eventually fell 3-2 to Colombia’s Leidy Chica Chica, ending her medal hopes in the discipline.
Levine, the 34-year-old from Montreal, will return to the court for the BC4 mixed pairs competition.
Canada eliminated from wheelchair rugby contention
Canada’s wheelchair rugby medal drought will last another four years.
A 50-46 loss to top-seeded Japan on Saturday knocked the Canadians out of podium contention after finishing group play with a 1-2 record. Their last podium appearance came with a silver at London 2012.
“It’s pretty miserable — just the way we kind of did it. We showed a lot of fight to come back, but that doesn’t matter if you don’t win. Yeah, it feels awful,” said Canada’s Cody Caldwell.
“We trained for four years to get to the medal round and hopefully win gold, or to compete for gold, and to not even give ourselves a chance, it’s probably one of the worst feelings.”
For the third consecutive game, Zak Madell of Okotoks, Alta., led Canada with 27 tries.
But after falling behind Japan 13-9 in the first quarter, the team was never quite able to claw out of the hole.
“They started quick, we fought back. We had a good, even shot in the second [quarter]. They played defence. We got a little careless with the ball, which isn’t like us,” Caldwell said.
Canada will now move into the 5-8 classification games.
Canada bounces back in women’s wheelchair basketball
Canada’s women’s wheelchair basketball squad rebounded from its opening loss with a 64-54 comeback win over Great Britain at Bercy Arena on Saturday.
Arinn Young of St. Albert, Alta., scored a game-high 26 points, including three three-pointers, while Cindy Ouellet of Rivière-du-Loup, Que., helped lead the way with 19 points.
“We really needed this win today to set us up for the rest of the pool games,” Young said. “I’m so proud of my team. That was a massive team win.”
Canada, which lost 70-65 to China on Thursday, plays its final group-stage game against Spain on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. All eight teams in the women’s and men’s tournaments advance to the quarterfinals.
The Canadians finished fifth three years ago in Tokyo.
WATCH l What makes wheelchair basketball and rugby so popular?:
Brian Hnatiw is joined by John Loeppky to talk about arguably the two most popular sports at the Paralympics: wheelchair rugby and basketball.
Canada’s men’s team took the court after the women, falling 88-58 to Tokyo bronze medallist Great Britain.
Rothesay, N.B., native Colin Higgins led the Canadians with 14 points, with co-flag-bearer Pat Anderson of Edmonton adding 11.
Canada wraps up group play against Germany on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. They opened with an 83-68 win over France.
“We put up a good fight, and it wasn’t our day,” Anderson said. “But you know, we’re in it for the long haul, so we’re gonna rest up. The savour of last night’s win — that’s still sweet.
“We’re not satisfied with that, but we know we can win on this court, in this atmosphere, so we’ll still carry that confidence forward and see what we can do in a couple days.”
Humboldt’s Wassermann fails to reach medal race
Humboldt bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann finished fourth in his repechage heat in the men’s PR1 single sculls rowing event, missing out on a spot in the medal race.
The 24-year-old Humboldt, Sask., native posted a time of 11:28.31 in the first of two repechages at Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium, needing a top-two finish to reach the Final A. He will instead compete in the four-man Final B.
Wonderful scenes at the para rowing venue for 🇨🇦 Jacob Wassermann in his repechage race today. He finished in a time of 11:28.31.<br><br>And as he reached the finish line the massive crowd roared. His competitors cheered. <br><br>Wassermann is in the B Final tomorrow morning in Paris. <a href=”https://t.co/h1m1koi3YF”>pic.twitter.com/h1m1koi3YF</a>
—@Devin_Heroux
Wassermann made his Paralympic debut in Paris, less than two years into competing in the sport. He is one of 13 survivors of the 2018 tragedy, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Wassermann clocked a time of 11:22.35 in qualifying.
In other Canadian results:
- Wheelchair tennis player Robert Shaw advanced to the quarterfinals in the men’s quad singles tournament with a 6-2, 6-1, first-round win over Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva at Roland-Garros Stadium. He will next face Niels Vink of the Netherlands.
- Amanda Rummery took fifth place in the women’s T47 400m final.
- Guillaume Ouellet finished fifth in the men’s 5,000m T13 race.
- Ashlyn Renneberg placed seventh in the women’s javelin F13 final in her Paralympic debut.
- Keegan Gaunt, racing in her first Paralympic final, placed ninth in the women’s T13 1,500m.
- Yuka Chokyu was eliminated in the women’s singles WH1 badminton tournament with a straight-sets loss to Thailand’s Sujirat Pookkham.
