Sebastian Massabie competes in the finals of the S4100M Freestyle finals with a 5th place finish at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France on August 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Michael P. Hall
PARIS – Canadian swimmer Sebastian Massabie has set a new world record while claiming gold at the Paralympics.
The 19-year-old Toronto native finished with a time of 35.61 seconds in the men’s S4 50-metre freestyle event on Friday.
That reset his previous Paralympic record of 36.95 from Friday morning’s heats and broke the world record of 36.25 by Israel’s Ami Omer Dadaon from June 2022.
Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki grabbed silver (36.85), while Dadaon took bronze (37.11).
The gold is Massabie’s first career Paralympic medal in his debut at the Games.
He finished fifth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle earlier in the Paralympics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.