Gallagher’s Gold Leads Aussie Swimming Charge

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The Australian Swim Team secured the nation’s first medals of the Paris Games, bringing home one gold, one silver and two bronze medals on the opening night.

Australia’s medal tally began with Brenden Hall, who secured a bronze in the men’s S9 400m freestyle, the first race of the night.

Earlier in the day, current world record holder Hall and Tim Hodge dominated their heats, posting the fastest and second-fastest times respectively, and setting high expectations for the final.

However it was France’s Ugo Didier who excelled, spurred on by the home crowd’s vocal support to claim the gold medal in a time of 4:12.55, while Italy’s Simone Barlaam secured silver in a time of 4:14.16.

The battle for third was intense, with Hall showing incredible determination in the final 50 metres to power home and collect bronze in 4:15.61. Hodge, despite a valiant effort, missed the podium by 0.56, finishing in fourth place.

Lakeisha Patterson was next to race in the women’s S9 400m freestyle. After posting a solid heat time and qualifying fastest, Patterson started the final in a strong position, but was overtaken at the finish line by Hungary’s Zsofia Konkoly to take home silver in 4:40.14, just 0.36 behind Konkoly. It was her third consecutive Games medal in the event after securing gold at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

“I could see her closing in that last 200 and I like a chase and thought I’d be able to get there tonight,” Patterson said.

“I certainly can’t complain, it’s my third Paralympics now and I’ve podiumed at all three Games and that’s a special feeling.”

The next two races saw Ben Hance and Paige Leonhardt unable to convert their strong heats performances into medals in the S14 100m butterfly finals, with both to swim again later in the week.

The highlight of the evening came when Tom Gallagher claimed Australia’s first gold medal of the Paris Games in the men’s S10 50m freestyle in 23.40. After qualifying as the fastest in the heats earlier in the day, Gallagher delivered a stellar performance in the final to secure the top spot on the podium.

Tokyo Gold medalist Rowan Crothers joined him on the podium, winning the bronze in 23.79. In a touching moment, Gallagher invited Crothers to stand with him atop the podium during the anthem.

Gallagher reflected on his journey since Tokyo, which saw him miss the medal presentation of the Men’s S10 400m freestyle in which he secured bronze due to an attack of pancreatitis.

“To go the two-peat for Australia in the 50 and being the first gold medal of the comp means so much to me,” Gallagher said.

“In Tokyo, I was a different athlete back then. It was the 400 (metre) days, I had a lot of medical issues with my pancreas so after the 400 (metres freestyle S10) I ended up in hospital for about a month and nearly died. I luckily had a surgery a few years ago now that fixed it all under the guidance of Ash (Callus) and the Somerset crew I’ve managed to turn into a sprinter in a few, maybe 18 months so I’m just thrilled, yeah, it’s just amazing.”

Crothers said: “It’s never about medals, it’s about doing your best, having fun and wearing your heart on your sleeve. I did my best and that’s all I can ask for … (winning gold) is so incredible for Tommy.”

The night concluded with Alexa Leary and Jasmine Greenwood competing in the women’s S10 50m freestyle. Although neither secured a medal, Greenwood posted a personal best in the heats (28.23) to advance to the final, while Leary, in her first Paralympic final appearance, finished sixth after setting a Paralympic record time (27.69) in the heats.

Day two of the action at La Defense Arena sees only a handful of Aussies in action with Kiera Stephens competing in the SB9 100m breaststroke and Tim Hodge in the men’s SB8 100m breaststroke, while the first relay will be on show with Ahmed Kelly, Grant Patterson, Chloe Osborn and Holly Warn competing in the 20 point 4 x 50m freestyle mixed relay.