University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Panthers In Paris - Day Three: Olivia Chambers captures Paralympic gold in 400-meter freestyle
8/31/2024 1:35:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
UNI senior wins first Paralympic medal in school history in career-best time. Will return to the pool on Monday for third of five individual events.
PARIS --- Just two years after making her debut on the para swimming circuit, UNI senior Olivia Chambers ascended to the top of the Paralympic world on Saturday as she captured gold in the women's S13 400-meter freestyle in front of a raucous crowd at La Defense Arena.
Chambers, a Little Rock, Arkansas native who is legally blind due to multiple mitochondrial gene deletion syndrome, becomes UNI's first-ever Paralympic medalist and also joins elite company as the first UNI athlete to earn an Olympic or Paralympic medal since Bill Smith's 1952 Olympic gold medal performance in wrestling at the summer games in Helsinki, Finland.
She is also the first American swimmer to win the S13 400-meter freestyle at the Paralympics since Rebecca Meyers set the world, Paralympic and American records at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The lone American swimmer competing in the ten-athlete event seeded with the world's fastest time this year and second-fastest overall in the field, Chambers opened the day with a dominating performance in the first of two preliminary heats with a time of 4:33.28 seconds, cruising past second-place finisher Edo Beltran (Spain) by 17.83 seconds. Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova of Uzbekistan finished third in the heat (4:52.14). In the second prelim heat, reigning world champion Carlotta Gilli (Italy) came in first with a time of 4:43.84, with 2020 Paralympic champion Anna Stetsenko (Ukraine) following in second (4:48.48) and Spain's Emma Feliu Martin in third (4:57.48).
Chambers repeated her impressive preliminary performance in the finals by shaving 2.62 seconds off her career-best time from last summer's Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester, England, a race in which she finished second. Leading from start to finish, she held off Gilli by 1.90 seconds, who earned the silver medal, while Stetsenko won bronze (4:36.17).
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WOMEN'S S13 400m FREESTYLE FINALS RESULTS (Paris 2024 Paralympics)
- 1st | Olivia Chambers (USA) - 4:29.93
- 2nd | Carlotta Gilli (Italy) - 4:31.83
- 3rd | Anna Stetsenko (Ukraine) - 4:36.17
- 4th | Ariadna Edo Beltran (Spain) - 4:48.93
- 5th | Emma Feliu Martin (Spain) - 4:49.20
- 6th | Aleksandra Ziablitseva (Neutral Paralympic Athletes) - 4:49.47
- 7th | Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova (Uzbekistan) - 4:49.91
- 8th | Alani Ferreira (South Africa) - 4:55.95
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UP NEXT IN PARIS
Chambers returns to the pool on Monday, Sept. 2 in the women's S13 50-meter freestyle, a race in which she is seeded fifth overall in for this year's Paralympics in her classification. Preliminary heats are slated to begin at 3:55 a.m. CT with the finals scheduled for 11:47 a.m. CT. Live coverage can be found on the networks of NBC, including USA Network and Peacock.
Former UNI track and field athlete Jessica Heims will be the next Panther to compete in Paris as she participates in the women's F64 discus throw at Stade De France on Sunday. Participating in her third Paralympic Games, competition is scheduled to begin for Heims at 3:47 a.m. CT on Peacock in a direct final.
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CHAMBERS PARALYMPIC SCHEDULE/RESULTS (Prelim/Finals Times Listed in CT)
- Aug. 29 - S13 100m Butterfly - 5th Place [1:06.32]
- Aug. 31 - S13 400m Freestyle - 1st Place [4:29.93]
- Sept. 2 - S13 50m Freestyle - 3:55 a.m. / 11:47 a.m.
- Sept. 3 - SM13 200m Individual Medley - 4:15 a.m. / 1:04 p.m.
- Sept. 4 - Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay (49 pt.)** - 12:58 p.m.
- Sept. 5 - SB13 100m Breaststroke - 3:59 a.m. / 12:33 p.m.
                ** Relay participation to be determined (Direct final event)
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UNI'S OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC MEDALISTS
|
NAME |
GAMES |
SPORT/EVENT |
FINISH |
|
William "Red" Hamilton        |
London 1908 Olympics            |
Track & Field (Medley Relay)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
Gold                |
|
Gerald Leeman |
London 1948 Olympics |
Wrestling (Freestyle Bantam Weight) |
Silver |
|
Bill Smith |
Helsinki 1952 Olympics |
Wrestling (Freestyle Welterweight) |
Gold |
|
Paris 2024 Paralympics |
Swimming (S13 400m Freestyle) |
Gold |
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UNI swimming and diving action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Swimming and Diving), X (@uniswimdive) and on Instagram (@uniswimdive). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
Players Mentioned
