US Paralympic swimming trials close with further records
03.07.2016Athletes have done everything they can and the team for Rio 2016 will be announced on Sunay (3 July).
Zach Shattuck made a strong case for inclusion on the US team for Rio 2016 with two new national records.
© • Kevin McCarthy and US Paralympics
Shattuck provided the fireworks in two separate events, manufacturing records in the men's S6 100m freestyle S6 and the men's 200m individual medley SM6.
The third and final day of competition at the 2016 US Paralympic Swim Trials saw multiple national and a regional record fall at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Centre in North Carolina on Saturday (2 July).
Six new records were crafted by four different athletes as Michelle Konkoly, Garner Moss, Zach Shattuck, and Robert Griswold all added their names to the record books.
Konkoly dazzled the crowd for the second day in a row by breaking the women’s 100m freestyle S9 national and Americas records in both the preliminary and final rounds.
Konkoly finished with a time of 1:02.00 in the heats and followed suit by lowering the record to 1:01.25 in the finals. Konkoly twice broke the women’s 50m freestyle S9 world record the day before.
Moss collected his second national record of the trials, finishing with a time of 1:12.49 in the men's 100m backstroke S14 in the preliminaries. Moss won the event in the evening session, touching the wall at 1:13.14.
Shattuck provided the fireworks in two separate events, manufacturing records in the men's S6 100m freestyle S6 and the men's 200m individual medley SM6. The Frostburg State University product flashed times of 1:13.73 in the preliminary freestyle race and 3:01.09 in the individual medley final.
Griswold claimed the final record of the trials with a stellar 1:04.69 in the men's 100m backstroke S8 to earn the national record. Griswold cut nearly half a second off his preliminary time, coming through when it mattered most.
Twelve-time Paralympic gold medallist Jessica Long and Noah Scherf led all swimmers with three victories in the final round of competition.
London 2012 Paralympian Evan Austin, three-time Paralympian Cody Bureau, Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games bronze medallist Serfina King, nine-time Paralympic medallist Cortney Jordan, 2012 Paralympian Letticia Martinez, two-time Paralympic medallist Rebecca Meyers, Toronto 2015 gold medallist Leslie Cichocki, Moss and Shattuck all won two races apiece Saturday night.
Full results are available at the US Paralympics website.
The 2016 US Paralympic swimming team will be officially named in a public announcement on Sunday (3 July) at Romare Bearden Park. The celebration is free and open to the public.
The 2016 US Paralympic Team Trials – Swimming and Track & Field were hosted by Partners for Parks. Thanks to support from The Coca-Cola Company, BP, and Deloitte, the multi-sport Trials featured more than 400 athletes competing for a chance to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
