Canada puts forth a strong showing in the pool as Nicholas Bennett earns the country’s first gold 

PARIS – Nicholas Bennett finished first in the 100m Breaststroke – SB14 Final on Monday in dramatic fashion to capture Canada’s first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. 

It is the second medal earned by the Canadian in Paris, who’s dominant showing at his second Paralympic Games continues after taking silver in 200m Freestyle – Men’s S14 on Saturday.

The Red Deer, Alberta native was soaking in the moment when asked about what it meant to earn the first gold hardware for his nation.

“I definitely tried to do that on my first day of racing,” said Bennett after the race. “Of course that didn’t happen, but I’m just proud to be able to represent our country.”

The 20-year-old walked out into the arena cool and collected, splashing water on himself before stepping onto the platform. He got out to a superb start, sitting third at the 50m split. He turned on the jets in the final stretch, moving past Jake Michel of Australia and world record holder Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan to hit the wall first for the victory. 

Bennett was aware of the obstacle ahead of him at the turn and did what any competitor would do to earn the win. 

“I just had to hold on and race Yamaguchi, that was the only thing that mattered at that moment,” said Bennett. “I was definitely expecting him to touch second. I saw him in my peripherals, and I just had to hunker down the last few metres to get him.”

His time of 1:03:98 bested the competition by 0.29 of a second, and outpaced his time in the morning heats by 1.35 seconds, the lowest time of all heats and finals finishes. 

Bennett’s place at the top of the podium is fitting, as his gold medal marks the 400th medal earned by Canada in the Summer Paralympic Games, and the first gold medal at a Paralympic Games by a Canadian male swimmer since London 2012. He remarked on how incredible the moment was and the joint effort it took to get there.

“It’s an honour, to be put on the same level as the greats before me,” said Bennett. “My success is my sister’s success and my family’s. Being up there shows that the Bennett’s are doing the right thing and that I’m able to show the world that we’re here.” 

Elsewhere in the water, Sabrina Duchesne finished 6th in the 400m Freestyle – Women’s S7, with her time of 5:24:08 matching exactly her time in the heats earlier in the day. 

“It was a first, definitely the first time,” said Duchesne after the race on the precision between the two times. “It’s a good time, so to be able to repeat it morning and night, it’s good.”

The St-Augustin, Quebec native is competing in her third Paralympic Games, but had to wait a few days to participate in her first event in Paris. She touched on the loved ones in the crowd supporting her throughout the day.

“I actually have my parents, and my sister,” said Duchesne. “My coach flew in from Quebec City two days ago to see me tonight, so it’s amazing.”

The 23-year-old has one final event in the 100m Freestyle S7 on Wednesday, and acknowledged that she’ll use it to soak in the experience one more time.

“The 100 Free is always, I never know what’s going to happen,” Duchesne commented. “It’s a fun race, so we’ll see what happens.” 

Nicolas-Guy Turbide also finished 7th in the 50M Freestyle – S13 Final, his first and only event in Paris. His time of 24.40 seconds was just over half a second back of bronze medalist Oleksii Virchenko of Ukraine.

Despite the result not falling in the Canadian’s favour, he paid tribute to those who cheered him on in the stands and at home.

“The 50-metre freestyle goes by really quickly, but overall I’m still satisfied,” said Turbide after the race. “Just the fact that my family traveled here and were able to enjoy the moment with me, and the people at home cheering me on also.

“I feel very lucky and grateful to have them on my side.”

The 27-year-old from Quebec City has earned one medal apiece in Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, earning a silver in the 100m Backstroke S13 in Tokyo, and a bronze in the same event in Rio. He touched on how grateful he is to have such a lengthy and successful career in para swimming. 

“I think I swam every race in my career like it was the last one,” said Turbide. “If it is actually my last one, I have absolutely no regrets. About everything I was able to accomplish. 

“I’ve met some amazing people, had some amazing experiences, and overall I’ll still have some great memories from this moment even if it wasn’t the result I wanted.”

In the final para swimming event of the day that Canadians took part in, the team made up of Shelby Newkirk, Fernando Lu, Arianna Hunsicker, and Reid Maxwell finished 8th in the Mixed 4x100m medley relay. Newkirk is competing in her second Paralympic Games, while Lu, Hunsicker, and Maxwell are all making their Paralympics debut in Paris.

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