Lead report by Joshua Murray for ParalympicsGB and Aquatics GB; followed by reports from Swimming Australia and Swimming Canada, with thanks.

Ellie Challis and Louise Fiddes both became Paralympic champions for the first time in the space of another amazing hour at La Defense Arena for Britain's swimmers.

The close friends and Paralympic village flatmates boosted their room to the tune of two gold medals in style, with Challis surging clear to dominate the Women's S3 50m Backstroke race and Fiddes then triumphing in a supremely tight Women's SB14 100m Breaststroke showpiece.

Olivia Newman-Baronius was eighth in that same final, while Harry Stewart's first outing in a Paralympic final saw place fifth after setting a new personal best on the day in the Men's SB14 100m Breaststroke.

Opening the session, Challis upgraded her sprint backstroke silver from Tokyo to add to her world and European titles in the event by claiming victory in the final of the S3 50m Backstroke contest. Ellie always looked good for the win after ranking more than four seconds clear of the field in the heats - and her supreme stroke rate soon took her clear by the halfway point of the finale, holding on to that pace all the way to the wall to set a new S3 British record of 53.56 and pick up the gold medal.

"Honestly, that is such a dream come true. I really tried not to get ahead of myself coming into the event, I was four seconds ahead of everyone coming in and into tonight, but I knew that a race is a race, it's not over until you touch the wall," said the 20-year-old.

"It was all about keeping myself calm, keeping myself in the race and not thinking I had it already, because I really didn't, anything could happen. I managed to do that and I was really confident I could swim faster than I did this morning, and that's what I did - and then whether I got second, third, fourth, I'd have been happy. But wow, it's nice to come out first!

"It's joy, relief, happiness, a bit of everything really! This is what we all dream of and this is the goal for everyone getting into elite sport, and to accomplish that at 20 years old, I can't put it into words.

"I am just so thankful for my dad, my sisters and my coach for everything they have helped me with to get here. It's an unbelievable day, an unbelievable moment and I can't wait to share this all with them."

Challis' final was on in the call room as Fiddes prepared for her Women's SB14 100m Breaststroke final. As inspiration goes, it was not bad - and Fiddes duly delivered in her race as she put together a superb two lengths of breaststroke swimming against, among others, Brazilian twins Debora and Beatriz Borges Carneiro.

Fiddes was locked in a tussle with Debora Borges as part of the front two at halfway, turning second but moving into the lead before the 75m mark. There was competition across the pool as the contest progressed, with Australia's Paige Leonhardt also part of the conversation.

But Louise held her stroke rate and technique all the way to the wall, dropping each competitor behind her as she held strong for a memorable gold.

"I genuinely can't even believe it. It means everything - there were so many years where I felt like my dream was slipping away, and only in the last year have I felt like I've been getting back to it," she said.

"I'm in great shape. I have to thank my coach at home for that. It's just pure determination, I came off that turn, had a little glance and thought, 'I'm in gold medal position, I need to get down that other end now!'

"I was on the edge of my seat with Ellie's race, even though she won it by a mile, queen! I was like, 'if she can do it, I can do it, roomies!' In Tokyo, we both got silver, and we've both got gold here now."

In that same race, Paralympic debutant Newman-Baronius was part of another final, placing eighth.

Meanwhile, Harry Stewart - another of the Games first-timers - played his part in an enthralling Men's SB14 100m Breaststroke finale in coming fifth. He clocked a new PB of 1:05.69 in the heats and was nearly on the same time when he came back in the evening to show his class on this world stage, three months from becoming European champion on his senior international debut.

"I'm all right, it's mixed emotions. I'm happy to get in the final, fifth in the world isn't too bad. I wish I'd got a slightly better time, but in the heat of the moment, the nerves may have got over me a little bit - but I'm happy with that swim. It was anyone's race, going in we were all so close. I tried to go in as relaxed as possible, but you're always going to have nerves, you're not human if you don't but everyone raced brilliantly," he said.

"It's been a hectic year, a long year, but I appreciate every moment and I'm very happy to be here. I'd love to go to LA, I'm going to keep working hard each year and then hopefully I can get there as well."

Bennett strikes Paralympic gold

From Swimming Canada

A year’s hard work had a golden result for Nicholas Bennett Monday at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
 
Bennett was third after 50 metres then found another gear in the final leg to win the 100-m SB14 breaststroke for his second medal of the Paralympics and Canada’s first gold.
 
“My head is spinning right now,” said the 20-year-old from Parksville, B.C.
 
Bennett won the race in 1:03.98. Jake Michel of Australia was second in 1:04.27 while Japan’s Naohide Yamaguchi, the world record holder and defending Paralympic champion, was third in 1:04.94. 
 
Yamaguchi is a three-time world champion in the event. Bennett had finished second behind him at the 2023 Manchester Para Swimming World Championships.
 
“I had to hold on to race Yamaguchi, that was the only thing that mattered,” Bennett said. “I think I was just more confident.
 
“We’ve been working my breaststroke every day for the past year. Breaststroke is such a finicky race for myself. The moment day of is different than the day before.’”
 
Bennett, who is coached by his sister Haley Bennett-Osborne at the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, took silver and broke his own Canadian record in the S14 200-m freestyle Saturday. 
 
He fought back tears when listening to O Canada after being presented the gold medal by Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s minister of sport and physical activity, who is a former Paralympic swimmer.
 
“My success is my sister’s success and my family’s. Being up there shows that the Bennetts are doing the right thing and I’m able to show the world that we’re here,” said Bennett. “I’m just incredibly proud of me, my sister and my family. I wouldn’t be here without them.
“I tried to (win gold) on my first day of racing. I was proud to be able to represent our country.”
 
Bennett becomes the first Canadian man to win a Paralympic gold since Benoit Huot in the 200-m SM10 individual medley at the London 2012 Paralympics. It also was Canada’s 400^th summer Paralympic gold medal.
 
“It’s an honour to be on the same level as the greats before me,” said Bennett. “This is a long road, so hopefully there’s more to come.”
 
Bennett will race the 200 IM Wednesday, an event he holds the world record and is the reigning world champion, and the 100 back Friday.
 
In other races Monday, Sabrina Duchesne of Saint-Augustin, Que., was sixth in the 400-m S7 freestyle in 5:24.08. In what could be his last Paralympic race, Nicolas-Guy Turbide, 27, of Quebec City was seventh in the 50-m S13 freestyle in 24.40 seconds.
 
“I think I’ve swam every single race of my career like it was the last one,” said Turbide. “I think it was one of my strengths. 
 
“If it was my last one, I have no regrets with what I have accomplished. I’ll have some great memories from this moment even if it wasn’t the result I wanted.”
 
Ihar Boki, a neutral Paralympic athlete, won the race in 23.65 seconds to earn his 20^th Paralympic gold medal and 22^nd overall. Two athletes from Ukraine took silver and bronze, with Illia Yaremenko second in 23.77 and Oleksii Virchenko third in 23.85.
 
Turbide, who trains with Marc-Andre Pelletier at the Club de natation Région de Quebec, is the Commonwealth Games champion and was third at last year’s world championships.
 
Among the crowd at the Paris La Défense Arena watching Duchesne race were her parents, sister and coach who arrived from Quebec City two days before.
 
The 23-year-old swam the same time during the morning preliminaries as she did in the final.
 
“It’s definitely a first time,” said Duchesne, 23, who took bronze at worlds.  “It’s a good time. To be able to repeat it morning and night it’s good.”
 
The 4x100-m mixed 34-point medley relay team of Shelby Newkirk of Saskatoon swimming the backstroke, Fernando Lu of Burnaby, B.C., the breaststroke, Reid Maxwell of Edmonton the butterfly and Arianna Hunsicker of Surrey, B.C., the freestyle finished eighth in 4:50.00. It was the first time the race was held at the Paralympics.
 
Maxwell was celebrating his 17^th birthday and is the youngest member of the Canadian Paralympic contingent in Paris.
 
“It’s a very special experience just to swim a final in the Paralympics,” he said. “Doing it on your birthday is just a better birthday gift.”
 
There were some anxious moments for the relay team during the morning preliminaries. The group of Newkirk, Lu, Katie Cosgriffe of Burlington, Ont., and Maxwell finished ninth in their heat in 4:46.82 and had to wait five minutes before learning Czech had been disqualified, which moved them into the final. 
 
Maxwell swam the freestyle in the preliminaries. His time of 59.41 seconds was faster than his Canadian S8 record of 1:00.15.
 
Canadian Para swimmers have won five medals in Paris. Aurélie Rivard of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., has a silver in the S10 100-m freestyle and a bronze in the 50-m free. Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., was second in the 200-m SM7 individual medley.
 
A team of 22 athletes is representing Canada in Paris. Canadian swimmers won eight medals (three gold, three silver, two bronze) at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Australia has a golden flex with Lex after silver start

From Swimming Australia

Paralympic debutant Alexa Leary snatched gold for Australia in the mixed 4x100m medley 34PT with a last lap burst in the event’s Paralympic debut at La Defense Arena. 

With a stellar anchor leg, Leary chased down the Netherlands from second at the turn to touch first at the wall by 0.99s, claiming a Paralympic record and Australia's second gold in the pool with a time of 4:27.08. 

The Dolphins’ masterstroke was the inclusion of Tim Hodge and Leary into the final after Keira Stephens and Callum Simpson had teamed up with Jesse Aungles and Emily Beecroft to win their heat.

In what Leary called “the best team ever”; Aungles led off in backstroke with Hodge following in breaststroke, Beecroft next in butterfly before the final change to Leary who unleashed the beast in her freestyle leg.

In a fitting tribute, all six swimmers - heats and finals Dolphins - stood on the podium to sing Advance Australia Fair. 

Leary said: "They were a bit in front and I was like I've got to chase these people, we've got to win this, we're a strong team and we did it!" 

With three PBs, three records, a silver and a gold for Australia on Day Five of the 2024 Paralympics – someone forgot to tell our Dolphins that La Defense Arena was a slow pool.

In stark contrast to their able-bodied peers, there have been 12 Paralympic World Records in the pool at these Games with still five days of competition to go.

Earlier this morning AEST, Jake Michel clocked a PB and Oceania record on his way to claiming silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke S14 – his 1:04.27 just a touch behind Canada’s Nicholas Bennett (1:03.98) with reigning champion and world record holder Naohide Yamaguchi third (1:04.94).

For Michel, it was back-to-back silver medals in this event after his Tokyo efforts.

"I'm so proud, me and Yamaguchi, we are close rivals," Michel, 26, said before confirming he was looking to LA Games and perhaps Brisbane 2032.

"It's a good rivalry. We're very good mates. The crowd here is insane … I got a PB tonight and last time (Tokyo) I got a PB… it’s very likely to see me again in LA.”

Chloe Osborn set the tone for slick times, shaving almost two seconds off her previous best to clock a PB of 5:17.69 in the women’s 400m free S7 final, finishing fourth behind USA's Morgan Stickney, who set a Paralympic record - 4:53.88 - to claim the gold medal.

American McKenzie Coan won silver (5:10.34) with Italy’s Giulia Terzi the bronze (5:12.61).

Fellow Dolphin Holly Warn finished seventh in 5:26.71.

This was followed up by newly-minted silver medallist Ahmed Kelly who set a PB and new Oceania record in the men’s 50m backstroke S3. With a time of 54.96, Kelly placed eighth overall.

Just 0.09 of a second denied Lion Heart Paige Leonhardt a medal in the women's 100m breaststroke SB14 final.

It was a cracking swim from the Dolphin, who was quickest off the blocks but couldn’t hold pace against Great Britain's Louise Fiddes and Brazil's Borges Carneiro twins.

Fiddes touched in 1:15.47 with Debora Borges Carneiro (1:16.02) second and Beatriz Borges Carneiro third (1:16.46) with Leonhardt fourth (1:16.55).

For full results, see here.

What do the classifications mean?

• S1-S10 for athletes with physical impairments.
• S11-S13 for athletes with visual impairments.
• S14 for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Classifications explained here.