10 swimmers to watch at the 2024 Paralympics

PARALYMPIC SUMMER GAMES 2024

There are just three days left until the La Défense arena is once again ablaze with noise, as Paralympic swimming begins on August 29. Paris will host an exciting mix of veterans and debutants, many of whom have already set world records this year. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of ten female swimmers to keep an eye on during the Games, just as we did with the men.

Jessica Long, United States (classification S8, SB7, SM8)

Jessica Long is one of the biggest names in Paralympic swimming, especially for American fans. She has had an incredible career in terms of longevity and dominance. At 32, she is a 33-time world champion and 16-time Paralympic champion, and is now competing in her sixth Paralympics.

Listing all of her career accolades would fill pages, but most recently she won six medals in Tokyo, including gold in the 100m butterfly S8, 200m individual medley SM8 and 4x100m medley relay (34 points), showing she is still at the top of her game. Long skipped the 2022 World Championships, but picked up two more world titles at the 2023 World Championships in Manchester, England, by winning the 100m butterfly S8 and 200m individual medley SM8.

She will look to defend her titles in Paris and continue her winning streak in the 200m individual medley SM8, a discipline she has won gold in at the last four Paralympic Games.

Yip Pin Xiu, Singapore (S2 classification)

Yip Pin Xiu is another example of the longevity in the sport. At 16, Yip made her Paralympic debut at the Beijing Games, breaking the world record in the 50m freestyle S3 in the preliminary heats. She took silver in the final, but went on to win gold later in the competition when she won the 50m backstroke S3. It was a significant achievement for Yip and her country; it was Singapore’s first Paralympic gold medal.

Yip, now 32, has continued to shine at the Paralympics since Beijing – winning the 50/100 backstroke S2 ​​in Rio and defending both titles in Tokyo. She continued her winning streak in both events at the 2022 World Championships, winning gold in the 100m backstroke in 2023.

Now the five-time Paralympic champion wants to expand her medal collection at her fifth Paralympic Games.

Lu Dong, China (classification S5, SM5)

At the Paralympics in Tokyo Lu Dong won four gold medals – more than any other swimmer at the Games – to help China to another Paralympic medal haul. She won the 50m backstroke S5 with a world record of 37.18 and won the 50m butterfly S5, the 200m individual medley SM5 and the mixed 4×50 freestyle relay with 20 points. She will look to defend all of those titles in Paris and also contest the 100/200m freestyle S5.

She has now won seven medals at the Paralympics, five of which were gold. She has also performed well since Tokyo, winning two gold and two bronze medals at the 2023 World Championships.

China has dominated the pool medal table at the last three Paralympics and is aiming for its fourth consecutive medal win in Paris. Lu will play a key role in that, as will swimmers such as Liu Yu And Ma Jiawho both want to defend their multiple gold medals this week.

Alice Tai, Great Britain (classification S8, SB8, SM8)

After two podium places at the 2016 Paralympics Alice Tai, 25, withdrew from the 2020 Paralympics due to an elbow injuryShe also suffered increasing pain in her right foot due to the bilateral clubfoot she was born with, and eventually had to have her right leg amputated below the knee. in January 2022.

She returned to international competition at the 2022 World Championships, where she won silver in the 100-meter freestyle S8 after entering the competition with no other goals than to enjoy their return to racingA year later, she won gold in the 100 m backstroke S8 and silver in the 50 m freestyle S8 at the 2023 World Championships. Although she has competed in several international competitions since her amputation, this is her first participation in the Paralympics since 2016, when she won gold in the 4×100 m individual medley (34 points) and silver in the 100 m backstroke S10.

Tai is part of a strong British team in the pool, which includes swimmers such as Faye Rogers, Maisie Summers NewtonAnd Lily Newman-Baronius who broke all world records this year.

Tess Routliffe, Canada (classification S7, SB7, SM7)

Canada’s Tess Routliffe also missed the Paralympics in Tokyo. The silver medalist from Rio in the 200m individual medley SM7 suffered a fracture of the spine during strength training, which meant that she was unable to take part in the games.

She has since recovered and, like Tai, returned to international competition at the 2022 World Championships, where she won the 100m breaststroke SB7, took silver in the 200m individual medley S7 and bronze in the 50m butterfly S7. A year later, she contributed to Canada’s best performance at a World Para Swimming Championships by defending her title in the 100m breaststroke SB7 and taking gold in the 200m individual medley SB7, along with additional silver and bronze medals.

After qualifying for her first Paralympics since Rio, Routliffe broke the world record in the 50m breaststroke SB7 with a time of 40.68 at the CITI Para Swimming Series meeting in Berlin. In Paris, she will compete in the 50m breaststroke S7, the 100m breaststroke SB7 and the 200m individual medley SM7. She and the reigning Olympic champions Aurelie Rivard And Danielle Dorris The goal is to help Canada carry the momentum from the 2023 Paralympic World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games into the Paralympics.

Maria Carolina Santiago, Brazil (classification S12)

Maria Carolina Santiago started para-swimming in 2018 when she was 33 years old and returned to the pool afterwards almost a decade. Three years later, at her first Paralympic Games, she made history for Brazil by becoming her country’s first swimmer to win three gold medals at the same Games, ending a 17-year drought for Brazil in the pool at the Paralympics. In addition to her three gold medals, she also won silver in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay (49 points) and bronze in the 100 backstroke S12.

Now 39, Santiago returns to the Paralympic stage looking to defend her Paralympic titles in the 50m freestyle S13, 100m freestyle S12 and 100m breaststroke SB12. She has been in top form since Tokyo, winning three gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and breaking world records in the 50m freestyle S12 and 50m butterfly S12.

Alexa Leary, Australia (S9 classification)

The 23-year-old Alexa Leary will make her Paralympic debut in Paris. Leary was a triathlete as a child; in 2021, she suffered life-changing injuries while cycling and spent over 100 days in hospital.

After her recovery, she turned to para-swimming. Leary made quite an impression on her international debut at the 2023 World Championships, winning the 100m freestyle S9, nearly breaking the world record, and taking silver in the 50m freestyle S9. For her performance at the World Championships, she was named the 2023 Young Athlete of the Year at the Australian Institute for Sports Performance Awards.

In April 2024, Leary continued to shine, securing the world record in the 100m freestyle S9 with a time of 59.64 and will be among the medal favorites in the S9 sprint events at her first Paralympics.

Gia Pergolini, United States (classification S13, SB13, SM13)

Gia Pergolini She made her first international appearance at the 2017 World Championships in Mexico City. She won silver in the 100-meter backstroke S13 and defended her medal two years later at the 2019 World Championships.

Her big breakthrough came in Tokyo, where she twice broke the world record in the S13 100m backstroke en route to her first Paralympic gold medal, winning the final in 1:04.64, which remains a world record to this day.

After winning double gold at the 2022 World Championships (100m freestyle S13/100m backstroke S13), Pergolini – still a teenager – took a break from the sport. She returned to the long course pool with a bang in late 2023, breaking the world record in the 50m backstroke S13 (30.31) at the US Paralympic Swimming Championships. Six months later, she made her second Paralympic team and will be in Paris to defend her title.

Verena Schott, Germany (S6, SB5, SM6 classification)

35 years old Verena Schott is a four-time Paralympic medallist. After winning silver in the 200m individual medley SM6 in London, she won three bronze medals at the Tokyo Games (100 backstroke S6, 100 breaststroke SB5, 200m individual medley SM6). Last year, the veteran – who won her first World Championship medals in 2010 – won her first gold medal at World/Paralympic level since 2015 when she won the 100m breaststroke SB5 at the 2023 World Championships in Manchester.

Now Schott is looking to take that momentum to Paris and win her first Paralympic gold medal. She has performed strongly so far this season, winning five medals at the 2024 European Championships, including gold in the 100m backstroke S6 and the 50m butterfly S6.

Ellen Keane, Ireland (classification S9, SM9, SB8)

At 13 years old Ellen Keane was Ireland’s youngest female athlete when she competed in the 2008 Paralympics. Sixteen years later, Keane is preparing for one final competition after announcing that the Paris Games will be her last before retirement.

She’s not done yet, though – and she’ll be in the thick of the action in the final of the 100m breaststroke SB8 as she looks to defend her title in that event from Tokyo. This was her second Paralympic medal, after winning bronze in the same event in Rio, and she’s looking to get back on the podium for a third year in a row and end her career on a high. She’s had strong results since Tokyo, winning silver at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 European Championships.