Paris 2024: Great Britain dominate as three world records fall on day three

Great Britain dominated the pools on the day three of Para swimming competition with Stephen Clegg and William Ellard shattering the world records en route taking the gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. 

Multiple-time world champion Alice Tai joined her fellow swimmers to make it three gold for the British team in the evening. Tai won the women's 100m backstroke S8 finals with a Paralympic record timing of 1:09.06.    

Overall, 15 Paralympic champions were awarded at the Paris La Defense Arena on Saturday (31 August).

It was an emotional moment for Clegg as he got his first Paralympic gold medal in men's 100m backstroke S12 final after the silver and two bronze in Tokyo 2020.

"Using the expression 'getting the monkey off the back'," said the three-time world champion from Edinburgh who clocked 28.96.

"The target is still to win that (100m) butterfly. As soon as I touched that wall in Tokyo, I wanted it more than ever. Going into Tokyo, I had the plan of retiring if I'd won. That didn't happen and three years have been spent revising my approach to the sport and rediscovering my love for the sport. And it has brought me here."

Likewise this was the first Paralympic gold for the 18-year-old William who swam the men's 200m freestyle S14 final in a world record effort of 1:51.30s. "The last 25 (metres), I knew I'd won it. Just having my family behind me, Nan back in my head, doing it for her, doing it for my family." 

In the men's 400m freestyle S13 final, Neutral Paralympic Athlete Ihar Boki took the gold medal but it was the brothers Alex Portal and Kylian Portal who mesmerised the local fans.

China also made some noise in the pools when Jia Ma won the women's 50m freestyle S11 final with a world record timing of 28.96s.

Among others, USA and Brazil clinched two gold each, while Poland, Japan, Singapore won a gold each at the Paris La Defense Arena this evening.

Para swimming day three results 

Men's 100m Backstroke S12 Final
Gold: Stephen Clegg (GBR)
Silver: Raman Salei (AZE)
Bronze: Yaroslav Denysenko (UKR)

Women's 100m Backstroke S12 Final
Gold: Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (BRA)
Silver: Anna Stetsenko (UKR)
Bronze: Maria Delgado Nadal (ESP)

Men's 200m Freestyle S14 Final
Gold: William Ellard (GBR)
Silver: Nicholas Bennett (CAN)
Bronze: Jack Ireland (AUS)

Women's 200m Freestyle S14 Final
Gold: Valeriia Shabalina (NPA)
Silver: Poppy Maskill (GBR)
Bronze: Louise Fiddes (GBR)

Men's 100m Backstroke S8 Final
Gold: Inigo Llopis Sanz (ESP)
Silver: Kota Kubota (JPN)
Bronze: Mark Malyar (ISR)

Women's 100m Backstroke S8 Final
Gold: Alice Tai (GBR)
Silver: Viktoriia Ishchiulova (NPA)
Bronze: Mira Jeanne Maack (GER)

Men's 400m Freestyle S13 Final
Gold: Ihar Boki (NPA)
Silver: Alex Portal (FRA)
Bronze: Kylian Portal (FRA)

Women's 400m Freestyle S13 Final
Gold: Olivia Chambers (USA)
Silver: Carlotta Gilli (ITA)
Bronze: Anna Stetsenko (UKR)

Men's 50m Backstroke S1 Final
Gold: Kamil Otowski (POL)
Silver: Francesco Bettella (ITA)
Bronze: Anton Kol (UKR)

Men's 50m Backstroke  S2 Final
Gold: Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo (BRA)
Silver: Vladimir Danilenko (NPA)
Bronze: Alberto Caroly Abarza Diaz (CHI)

Women's 50m Backstroke S2 Final
Gold: Pin Xiu Yip (SGP)
Silver: Haidee Viviana Aceves Perez (MEX)
Bronze: Teresa Perales (ESP)

Men's 200m Individual Medley SM7 Final
Gold: Inaki Basiloff (ARG)
Silver: Andrii Trusov (UKR)
Bronze: Yevhenii Bohodaiko (UKR)

Women's 200m Individual Medley SM7 Final
Gold: Mallory Weggemann (USA)
Silver: Tess Routliffe (CAN)
Bronze: Julia Gaffney (USA)

Men's 50m Freestyle S11 Final
Gold: Keiichi Kimura (JPN)
Silver: Dongdong Hua (CHN)
Bronze: Wendell Belarmino Pereira (BRA)

Women's 50m Freestyle S11 Final
Gold: Jia Ma (CHN)
Silver: Karolina Pelendritou (CYP)
Bronze: Maryna Piddubna (UKR)