Canada’s Aurélie Rivard clinched a bronze medal during the second day of the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California. Rivard, a 13-time Paralympic medalist and three-time Paralympic champion in the S10 400m freestyle, finished third in the women’s 400m freestyle final, competing against athletes from the S6-11 and S13 classifications. The 30-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, secured 933 points with a time of 4:37.04.

Lakeisha Patterson of Australia, competing in the S9 category, won the gold medal with 986 points, clocking in at 4:40.35. American Ali Truwit, a S10 swimmer, finished first in 4:31.52 but earned 971 points. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ontario, placed eighth with 848 points in a time of 4:47.89.

Scoring at the event is based on how close a swimmer’s time is to the world record standard for their specific class, with higher points awarded for times closer to the record. Rivard made her return to international competition after a year off and expressed her satisfaction with the race, stating that it is her favorite and that she believes she can still achieve better results.

In other Canadian results, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, British Columbia, finished fourth in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB4-6, 8-9, 11, 13-14 final. The event saw Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan, the 2020 SB14 Paralympic champion, set a world record with a time of 1:02.38.

Reid Maxwell from St. Albert, Alberta, placed fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle S6-9, S11, S13 event. Viewers can catch live coverage of the Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET and the final session of the meet at 8:30 p.m. ET.