Rivard breaks own world record to open Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships
CAIRNS, Australia — Canadian swimming star Aurelie Rivard broke her own world record in the women’s S10 400-metre freestyle Thursday at the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships.
The 22-year-old from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., won the first final of the competition in four minutes 29.27 seconds, lowering her previous world standard of 4:29.96 set at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
“I was pleasantly surprised to break a world record because, mentally, I wasn’t really prepared for that,” Rivard said. “It was a near-perfect race and I’m really happy with the result, especially technically speaking.”
Angela Marina of Cambridge, Ont., won gold in the S14 200 freestyle in Canadian-record time of 2:16.70 to add to Canada’s opening-day medal haul of five gold and two silver medals.