Day 9 Wrap - Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Cameron Leslie (Whangarei) was the sole Kiwi in the pool on day nine of racing at the Paris La Defense Arena. The former World Record holder and reigning silver medallist at the previous two Para Swimming World Championships from Maderia 2022 and Manchester 2023 was taking on the first of his sprint events, the Men’s 50m Freestyle S4.
Leslie was in the first heat starting from lane four. The crowd gave a stirring welcome as they entered pool deck, with Frenchman Dimitri Granjux in lane seven lifting the home crowd. 18-year-old Sebastian Massabie (Canada – 36.95) laid down a massive personal best in the heat, breaking the Paralympic Games Record to set the fastest time overall and stamp his authority moving into the finals. Leslie was behind off the start with Massabie having the strong underwater skills. Leslie (37.70) used his powerful fast stroke rate to close the gap and be a clear second in the heat, qualifying for the final as the fourth fastest.
It looked like it was going to be a fast final and take a big performance to claim the gold medal. Sebastian Massabie led from the start, executing a brilliant underwater to surface ahead in lane four. Massabie set about working his way down the pool, combining his right arm and right leg to move quickly through the water. Leslie got off to a good start to be alongside Takayuka Suzuki (Japan) and Ami Omer Dadaon (Israel), with the trio swimming in a horizontal line for the one lap dash down the pool.
By halfway, it was evident that only four swimmers were battling for the medals. Massabie didn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon as he continued to lead the field, whilst the World Record holder Dadaon appeared to be edging into second and taking some water away from Massabie with 15m left to swim. Leslie and Suzuki showed they were in for the fight, taking it right down to the wire over the closing strokes, with it coming down to who could get on the wall first. Massabie (35.61) found an extra gear in the final metres to smash Dadaon’s World Record from 2022, lowering the mark by a whopping 0.64 seconds to be the first swimmer in the classification under 36 seconds. The 18-year-old made his impression by claiming his first Paralympic title ahead of Suzuki (36.85), who also set an Asian Record to claim silver, marginally ahead of Dadaon (37.11) to round out the podium. Leslie (37.24) was just fractionally behind in fourth place with his sixth fastest swim of his career. It was close right on to the wall, with even the slow-motion replay not showing much separation between second to fourth.
Leslie achieved his best result of the Paris Games so far in what proved to be the fastest race ever held in his S4 classification.
Leslie was proud of his performance whilst initially being gutted at the same time.
"Gutted. However, putting it in context I can smile because it's my sixth fastest time ever - across 18 years of competition that's pretty good in my eyes. At my age you can't just pop out lifetime bests. It's as fast as I did at World Champs last year to get silver."
Leslie is looking forward to his final event on the programme.
"I'm going fast in the sprints which was our intention and gives us confidence heading into the 50m Backstroke. That'll be a tight race too but it's also been a target race for us."
Congratulations to Cameron Leslie, coach Tom Onley and his support team for another stellar performance on the big stage leaving it all out there in the pool. We are so proud.
Leslie will be back in the pool tonight on the final day of competition as the reigning World Champion in the Men’s 50m Backstroke S4. Gaby Smith (Vikings) will be other Kiwi as she races her third event of her campaign in the Women's 200m Individual Medley SM10.
Heats will be held each NZ evening from 7.30pm NZST and finals from 3.30am NZST the following morning.
Make sure you are following Swimming NZ on our social media channels to stay up-to-date with the latest action from Paris.
You can watch the coverage on TVNZ, who are providing the most extensive coverage in New Zealand history at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Check out our preview of our Kiwis in action each day below.
Daily Previews
*start times are subject to change, and finals are subject to athlete progression.
Day Ten
Heats (from 7.30pm NZST – Saturday 7 September)
Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 (Smith)
Men’s 50m Backstroke S4 (Leslie)
Potential Finals Swims (from 3.30am NZST – Sunday 8 September)
Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 (Smith* – 3.37am)
Men’s 50m Backstroke S4 (Leslie* – 4.54am)
Gaby Smith will round out her debut Paralympic Games on the final day of competition, taking on her third event — the women’s 200m individual medley SM10. She is seeded as the 12th fastest coming into the Games.
Cameron Leslie has his best event on the final day, where he will take on the men’s 50m backstroke S4. Coming into the event as the reigning World Champion, Leslie has the third fastest entry time.
Swimmer Entries
Cameron Leslie
Men’s 50m Freestyle S4 - Fourth (37.24)
Men’s 100m Freestyle S4 - Seventh (1:24.03)
Men’s 200m Freestyle S4 - Eighth (3:06.84)
Men’s 50m Backstroke S4 (Entry time: 42.64)
Lili-Fox Mason
Women’s 400m Freestyle S10 - Eleventh (5:00.42)
Women’s 100m Butterfly S10 - Thirteenth (1:12.44)
Tupou Neiufi
Women’s 50m Freestyle S8 - Tenth (33.40)
Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 - Ninth (1:23.49)
Jesse Reynolds
Men’s 100m Backstroke S9 - Seventh (1:04.89)
Gaby Smith
Women’s 400m Freestyle S10 - Twelfth (5:02.31)
Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB9 - Seventh (1:20.72)
Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 (Entry time: 2:39.68)
Josh Willmer
Men’s 100m Breaststroke SB8 - Ninth (1:12.73 - SB8 NZ Record)
New Zealand Swimming Team
Name | Club/Organisation | Role |
Cameron Leslie | Whangārei | Swimmer |
Lili-Fox Mason | Wharenui | Swimmer |
Tupou Neiufi | Pukekohe | Swimmer |
Jesse Reynolds | Hamilton Aquatics & RPC Waikato | Swimmer |
Gaby Smith | Vikings | Swimmer |
Josh Willmer | Pukekohe | Swimmer |
Simon Mayne | Swimming NZ | Head Coach |
Tom Onley | Whangārei | Coach |
Amanda White | Swimming NZ | Team Manager & Chaperone |
Graeme White | Support Staff |
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