Paris 2024: Awesome foursomes mixed relay swimmers battle it out

Born in land-locked Afghanistan, former refugee Abbas Karimi dug deep to help his US teammates from his adopted homeland secure a podium finish in a mixed relay event.  

The 27-year-old Para swimmer now calls Fort Lauderdale Florida home after fleeing Afghanistan in 2013 and spending four years in limbo in Türkiye. 

Karimi swam for the International Paralympic Committee’s Refugee Team at the Tokyo 2020 Games where he finished in the top eight of the individual 50m Butterfly - S5 event.  

The first Games was challenging but he said he feels faster and better prepared this time around. 

“I was not doing really well mentally and emotionally,” he told reporters at La Défense Arena.  

“But this time I got everything under control and it got me here.” 

After obtaining US citizenship in 2022, Karimi, who was born without arms, qualified to join Team USA’s swim squad for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.   

Karimi brimmed with pride as he accepted his first Paralympic medal in the mixed 4x50m Freestyle 20 Points final.    

"But I wouldn't be able to do it without these amazing people and amazing teammates and it's an honour for me to represent the United States of America."   

Leanne Smith said the team had gone out strong in the morning heats and had taken it easy in the afternoon.  

“We had some more in the tank,” she said.  

"I had that mentality of - eyes forward, focus on yourself, stay in your own race - and it paid off and helped these guys do the rest. They absolutely killed it."  

Teammate Zach Shattuck said the hardest part of the race was not the actual swimming, but rather the minutes-long anxious wait as timekeepers fixed a scoreboard glitch and confirmed the correct results on Friday night.  

"The suspense was unreal. Every kid's dream is to get into this position and have a chance at a medal, but to have to wait for that tension to boil over, it's hard to fathom."   

“I think the heart rate might have been higher waiting than it was during the race.”  

For colleague Ellie Marks relay races were higher stakes than individual events.  

"I will always be afraid of relays, but I'm happy to be on them,” she told reporters at La Défense Arena.  

"I don't want to fail other people. It's ok if I fail myself."  

World record falls  

People's Republic of China successfully defended its title in the event, smashing its world record from the Tokyo Games.  

The team finished in 2:14.98.    

The Chinese team were a barrel of nerves waiting for confirmation of the results. 

“We were confident we would get the win,” Chinese swimmer Lu Dong said, who swam in the heat but not the final.  

“We were always staring at the screen, and we saw our teammate touched the wall first."  

The Brazil team sealed a bronze medal, just like the country did in Tokyo.  

"This is one of the best days of my life," an over-the-moon Daniel Xavier Mendes said, adding that when the scoreboard was official “the happiness was so strong”.   

“My mother is here, my family are all supporting me here in Paris. I love it.”