NZ Para Swimming Team on track two years out from Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

The New Zealand Para Swimming Team has bettered the record-breaking performance at the same event four years ago. With a total medal tally of 14 the team bettered the record breaking medal haul at the 2014 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships of 13 medals with just over 2 years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

One of tonight’s gold medallists Cameron Leslie only joined the team 48 hours ago after competing for the Wheel Blacks at the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Sydney. Leslie said: “I swam the target time we had set prior to the Championships so got to be happy with that. Still a few things I could sharpen up on. The transition from Wheelchair rugby to Para swimming has worked really well and my body has performed well. Hats off to the High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) support crew who helped me get there.“

Leslie swam an aggressive heat this morning and took a commanding lead, however in the final it was a little closer in the breaststroke leg. He said: “I have always come home strong in the medley race so I was not too worried about being out touched at the 100m mark.“

Sophie Pascoe won a gold and silver medal tonight taking her overall tally for the Championships to 3 gold and 2 sliver. Pascoe said: “I’m pretty pleased with this meet and there is a lot to take away and put into training when we get home. Considering the head wind tonight I’m happy with the swims. The atmosphere has really lifted tonight and we all finished on a good high. The New Zealand team can all be proud of our races and go home with lots to work on going into the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.“

She continued: “Now the meet has finished I will have some minor surgery that has been planned for a while. I’m having a nerve removed out of my left leg to help me get into new prosthetics and help with longevity. I will only be out of the water for about 10 days and then focussing on a bit of cross training through the next few months to keep it fresh. I’m looking forward to some life adventures too as I have not had a break since October last year. I am so excited about getting home to New Zealand! It has been 4 months that I have been away and there is only such much Skype and Facetime you can do but it’s not the real thing. I’m looking forward to getting home and a mum hug.“

Chris Arbuthnott won a bronze and swam a personal best time in the Men’s 100m Butterfly, a race he had been building towards throughout the Championships. He said: “That felt really good and there was a lot of pressure riding on this as I had been adjusting my other races in Cairns to get the best result in the 100m Butterfly tonight. I am really glad I got a PB and managed to sneak a bronze medal. I just stuck to the race plan and could not have done it without the support of my coach Simon Mayne.“

He continued: “It was a new approach for me just focussing predominantly on one race but I went with Simon’s guidance and got the result tonight. I remember the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships 4 years ago and have thought about how far I have come from that meet since then. It’s really good to see more personal bests this year from the entire team. With 2 years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Simon [Mayne] and I will sit down now and decide on what races we will focus on and our approach to training. We will be making sure that from now until Tokyo 2020 that I’m doing everything I can to go faster.“

Graeme Maw (Para Swimming Programme Manager) said: “It was a solid effort at the Championships as the team leave with 14 medals. It was great to see a real mix of the experienced and the new Para swimmers. Some of the highlights included Sophie’s [Pascoe] consistent performance – 5 medals from 5 races. Amanda [Lowry] in her third ever Para swimming meet and winning an international event and posting a world ranking time. Cameron Leslie coming in from the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships, settling in quickly and getting on with the business to win a gold medal in his best time since the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Further to this, the newcomers were rewarded with a podium spot – Celyn Edwards in the relay, Chris Arbuthnott with his medal tonight, and Jesse Reynolds winning a medal three times throughout the meet. It was great to see the team starting to hit the international podium and challenging a really strong Australian team. Overall, most of the team have certainly swum season bests if not personal bests, so really peaked here which is encouraging however we have missed some occasions. Over the next two years building into the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics we will focus on consistency both in competition and in the pool during training.“