Team Canada won their first gold medal of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris on Monday. Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, British Columbia finished first in the men’s 100 metre breaststroke swimming competition in the SB14 classification.
Bennett, who suffers from autism, posted a winning time of 1:03.98. Jake Michel of Australia won the silver medal with a time of 1:04.27. Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 1:04.94. Bennett reached the podium by 0.99 seconds. Joao Pedro Brutos de Oliveira of Brazil finished in fourth place with a time of 1:04.97.
Meanwhile, Canada won two more bronze medals in the sports of athletics and paratriathlon. In athletics, Austin Smeenk of Oakville, Ontario, placed third in the men’s 100m with a T34 classification. Smeenk, who suffers from hereditary spastic paraplegia, posted a time of 15.19 seconds. Chaiwat Rattana of Thailand won the gold medal with a time of 14.76 seconds. Walid Ktila of Tunisia won the silver medal with a time of 15.14 seconds. Smeenk reached the podium by .12 seconds. Rheed McCracken of Australia finished in fourth place with a time of 15.31 seconds.
In paratriathlon, Leanne Taylor of Oak Bluff, Manitoba won the bronze medal in the women’s PTWC classification. Taylor, who has limb impairments and is paralyzed from the waist down due to a mountain biking accident in 2018, had a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 11 seconds. Lauren Parker of Australia won the gold medal with a time of one hour, six minutes and 23 seconds. Kendall Gretsch of the United States won the silver medal with a time of one hour, seven minutes and 46 seconds. Taylor reached the podium by seven seconds. Eva Maria Moral Pedrero of Spain finished in fourth place with a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 18 seconds.
Canada now has 11 medals. They have one gold medal, four silver medals, and six bronze medals.
