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

Three Paralympic titles, two world records, a Paralympic record and five medals in total made for one of the greatest hours in the history of any ParalympicsGB swimming team on an enthralling Saturday night in Paris.

Stephen Clegg (Men's S12 100m Backstroke), Will Ellard (Men's S14 200m Freestyle) and Alice Tai (Women's S8 100m Backstroke) delivered a hat-trick of utterly dominant gold medals in quick succession, Clegg and Ellard doing so in new world record times, while Tai's mark in her event was a new Paralympic record.

Alongside those sensational moments, the Women's S14 200m Freestyle served up a GB podium double, as Poppy Maskill claimed silver to follow her S14 100m Butterfly title from Thursday and Louise Fiddes touched for bronze in the same race.

All in all, it made for an unforgettable evening for all involved at La Defense Arena, with the British team now already on seven gold medals after only three days - a single gold off their tally of eight from Tokyo 2020. There was also time for 13-year-old Iona Winnifrith - the youngest athlete for ParalympicsGB in Paris - to clock a new European record on the way to fourth in the Women's SM7 200m Individual Medley too.

The session began with an emotional maiden Paralympic title for Clegg, who claimed three medals three years ago in Tokyo but was unable to make the top step of the podium.

At the first time of asking this time around, he was in no mood for anything other than gold in the final of the Men's S12 100m Backstroke, taking things out hard to lead long-time rival Raman Salei of Azerbaijan by half-a-second at the turn. Strong underwaters saw him move further clear, and an impressive stroke rate took him away at distance to the wall, as he claimed gold by more than 1.5s and dipped inside the world record, touching in 59.02.

Clegg said:

"[The gold] has eluded me for quite a long time - it's just so, so gratifying to get that monkey off the back and be able to just relax now into the rest of the week. Growing up, I didn't ever think that I'd become a Paralympic champion and a lot of people didn't think that was possible for me - so it's nice to finally have it. Now I can really nail it into the rest of the week, and with a bit of luck in my favour and the right demonstration of the work I've done, I can get a couple more medals around my neck.

"It's very special having family here. I got to speak to my sister [Paralympic champion athlete Libby Clegg] very briefly on Channel 4 after the race, I was a bit lost for words because there are so many emotions going through my brain right now. She's a legend of the sport, a lot of people know who I am just because of her - so to be able to put myself on the same level as her is an incredible thing for me. My mum is up in the crowd today, which is great, I'm so glad she got to see that."

Within a few minutes of Clegg's triumph, Ellard was following up in arguably even more emphatic fashion in his favoured S14 200m Freestyle event.

The Paralympic debutant - a silver medallist in the 100m Butterfly on the opening night - went in as the fastest seed and joint world record holder. But that best mark would be shattered at the end of four stunning laps of freestyle swimming, Will using the added impetus of Canada's Nicholas Bennett alongside him in what was a brilliant contest for 150m. Australia's Jack Ireland took the bronze. (see reports from Canada and Australia below).

He was only 0.5s clear of Bennett at the final turn, before unleashing a closing 50m that was nearly two seconds faster than his rival, surging away to claim a maiden Paralympic gold and resetting the world record by more than one second, at a mark of 1:51.30.

"That feels amazing. Going into the 100m Butterfly on Thursday, I knew I'd use it to give me confidence, but coming second gave me a fire for today too. Coming into this one and that last 50m, I knew I had to give it my all because if not, I'd have a lot of big regrets afterwards," said St Felix Swimming Club youngster, aged 18.

"I've done that for my family, everyone who has supported me over the years, thousands of people. I've got my mum, dad, everyone here, friends and family, I think I've got 30 or 35 people here in total. It hurt a lot more than when I equalled Reece Dunn's world record in April. I touched the wall and thought the clock said 1:53.3 because it didn't say 'world record' next to it for some reason - and then when it popped up on the board as world record, I was like, 'oh, wow!'"

The third and final title on this golden Saturday evening came courtesy of Alice Tai, eight years on from her first as part of the Women's 34pt 4x100m Medley Relay in Rio, three after she had to miss the Tokyo Games with injury and two-and-a-half on from having her right leg amputated below the knee.

Her triumph in the Women's S8 100m Backstroke final was another comprehensive one, moving further clear of the field with every stroke of a technically brilliant race to ultimately win in a Paralympic record time of 1:09.06, nearly six seconds ahead of Viktoriaa Ishchiulova in second.

"I cannot describe the feeling, the journey I've had and to be here now, I am so proud of myself and I'm so happy my family could be here. My nan is watching from home, she's by herself, my grandad sadly passed away this year but I know he was screaming from wherever he is. I hope I've made them proud, but also, I'm happy in the process. I feel like all my words are a bit muddled right now!" she said afterwards.

"The biggest thing about being a Paralympian and having a platform to advocate for disability and that it's not a scary thing, that's really special. I've had so many messages off the back of the documentary [Amputating Alice] and performances in general where I've been in the public eye, people with similar disabilities messaging me saying they now feel confident to be themselves, go out in public in shorts, or parents with children with similar disabilities who feel like they're not so scared about the future of their child.

"That is something that is becoming more and more common. We saw it with Ellie Simmonds, she has broken stigma for her impairment, and I really want to do the same with mine. I feel as though just being here is doing that, and so as well as being part of myself and in my performance, I am so privileged to be in a position where I can advocate like that and allow other people to be themselves and live their full lives, because finding that ability to feel comfortable in your own body is incredible."

There were two GB athletes on the podium after the Women's S14 200m Freestyle, as Poppy Maskill took silver and Louise Fiddes the bronze.

Behind eventual champion Valeriaa Shabalina, Maskill and Fiddes never fell out of the medal positions, briefly switching positions over the second length before Maskill moved into silver after the halfway turn and held that placing well as her superb debut Paralympics continues. Fiddes, meanwhile, added to her tally of two medals from Tokyo as she finished things well down the final 50m to take bronze, with compatriot Olivia Newman-Baronius - like Maskill, another first-time Paralympian - following right on in fourth.

"It is just incredible. All the years I've been swimming and I've not been on my PBs, it's been really hard to swim a bit slow. I went just outside my PB today, so honestly, it means absolutely everything, especially with my family here. It gives you so much confidence [racing alongside teammates]. You know that we're a team at the end of the day, and it was lovely being in the call room with them, hyping each other up before the race," said Fiddes.

Later in the evening, there was an amazing, European-record-breaking swim by 13-year-old Iona Winnifrith to place fourth in the Women's SM7 200m Individual Medley. A pacey leg of breaststroke moved her from eighth to fourth in the space of one lap, and she held firm in a strong anchor of freestyle to miss out on the medals by a single place, an outstanding achievement in her first event at this level.

"I'm really happy. I just wanted to do a PB - I didn't expect that. Of course fourth is a little disappointing, but I'm still really happy. This is just a warm-up event for me, so to do that time is really good!" she said.

"It's all been pretty cool! I've never swam in an arena this big and the atmosphere is crazy! I watched the Olympics so I had an idea of what the noise would be like and the arena, and it's all been pretty cool. Everyone has been coming back with their medals, and it's just made me even more confident. We've got such a great team, a big team - I'm really close with Maisie and some of the older ones. Three weeks away from home can be quite hard, but now we are like a family."

The final British involvement on day three came in the Women's S11 50m Freestyle final, as Scarlett Humphrey dropped good time from heat to final as she placed seventh, a day on from her first Paralympic final in the 400m event.

Routliffe and Bennett claim medals during silver Saturday

From Swimming Canada...

 It was a silver Saturday for Canadian swimmers at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., was second in the SM7 200-metre individual medley while Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C, took silver and broke his own Canadian record in the S14 200-m freestyle.

Routliffe was fifth after the butterfly and backstroke but used a powerful breaststroke to climb into second place. She then relied on a strong freestyle to cruise to her second career Paralympic medal in 2:57.17.

It’s been a long wait for Routliffe, who also earned silver in this event at the Rio 2016 Paralympics but missed the Tokyo Games with a severe back injury.

“I’m ecstatic to be back here and doing what I love again,” said the 25-year-old who trains at the High Performance Centre – Quebec in Montreal with coach Simon Deguire.

“It’s more about maxing out my potential. Unfortunately, tonight I wasn’t able to fully max out what I think I’m capable of.”

Danielle Dorris of Moncton, N.B., was sixth in 3:04.51.

Mallory Weggemann, the world record holder and defending Paralympic champion, won gold in a Paralympic record time of 2:53.29. Her American teammate Julia Gaffney was third in 3:01.27.

In the thrilling men’s race, Bennett matched Great Britain’s William Ellard stroke for stoke for 150 metres then fought off a late charge from Australia’s Jack Ireland to earn his first Paralympic medal.

Ellard won gold in a world record time of 1:51.30. Bennett touched the wall in 1:53.61, lowering his previous Canadian record (1:54.20). Ireland was third in 1:53.77.

“This is something we have been working toward ever since I was a little kid, just to get to this level,” said Bennett, 20, who is coached by his sister Haley Bennett-Osborne at the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club. “Hitting the podium is a highlight.”

It was the fifth time Bennett set a Canadian record in a Paralympic race. He broke records in all four events he swam in Tokyo where he was sixth in the 200 freestyle. He also won the race at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“It’s just being able to race against the best and leave it all in the pool,” said Bennett, who went into the final with the fastest qualifying time of 1:54.72.

Bennett-Osborne was proud of her brother’s race. 

“He went out after it,” she said. “It was great. Best time. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Dorris said the 200 IM is a “finicky race” for her and she was satisfied with the result.

“I was just happy with it going as well as it did and not imploding,” she said. “Everyone came to play tonight and did their jobs. I did my job, but it wasn’t a good enough job, but I can’t complain about that.”

Routliffe won gold in the race at the 2023 Manchester Para Swimming World Championships while Dorris was third. Dorris was fourth in the event as an 18-year-old at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Routliffe was happy to get her first race done and is looking forward to Thursday’s 100-m breaststroke, which she won at the last world championships.

“I get to have this experience and be on the podium and test out everything and be even more ready,” she said.

Dorris said the IM race helped set her up for Saturday’s 50-m butterfly, in which she holds the world record and is the defending world and Paralympic champion. She also praised the large, vocal crowd at the Paris La Défense Arena.

“We are here with this big ass crowd,” said the 21-year-old who trains with coach Ryan Allen at Club De Natation Bleu Et Or. “I haven’t been in front of this big a crowd since Rio when I was 13.”

Routliffe was the second fastest qualifier in the morning preliminaries in 2:59.06 while Dorris was third in 3:02.55. That time was faster than the 3:03.16 she swam in Tokyo and would have earned her a silver medal.

In other races, Edmonton’s Reid Maxwell missed the final qualifying spot in the 100-m S8 backstroke by 1.50. The 16-year-old competing at his first Paralympics was timed in 1:10.37 behind two swimmers who tied in 1:08.87.

Canada has now won three medals after three days of competition.

Aurélie Rivard of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., took bronze in the 50-m S10 freestyle on Thursday’s opening day. Rivard returns to the pool Sunday for the S10 100-m freestyle, a race she has won at the last two Paralympics and set the world record of 58.14 in Tokyo.

Also racing Sunday is Arianna Hunsicker of Surrey, B.C., in the S10 freestyle, Alex Elliot of Kitchener, Ont., and Fernando Lu of Burnaby, B.C., in the 100-m S10 freestyle and Maxwell in the 200-m SM8 IM.

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.

Jack Ireland Takes Bronze For Dolphins

From Swimming Australia

A perfectly executed race plan delivered Jack Ireland and the Dolphins a Paralympic bronze medal at La Defense Arena this morning AEST.

As “Team Jack Flash” – including grandma and mum - sat in the stands cheering, Ireland clocked a PB (1:53.77) to storm home in the men’s 200m freestyle S14.

Ireland, at his first Paralympics, celebrated his 25^th birthday just before the Opening Ceremony and it took a world record from Great Britain's William Ellard (1:51.30) and a mighty effort from Canada’s Nicholas Bennett to upstage the birthday boy.

Ireland had a terrific start and finished the first 50m in third. He stayed in touch with Ellard and Bennett, turning at 100m about half-a-body length behind and despite bridging the gap between himself and Bennett in the final 25 metres, ran out of time.

“This is amazing,” Ireland said, “that was a tough race, I stuck to my race plan and … I can’t complain, a bronze and a PB (on debut) makes it even better.”

In the first final of Day 3, Dolphin Jenna Jones placed sixth (1:13.81) in the women’s 100m backstroke S12 with Brazil’s eight-time world champion Maria Gomes Santiago (1:08.23) dominating to win gold, upgrading her bronze from Tokyo in the same event.
 
In other finals, Gold Coast’s Madeleine McTernan ripped a big PB – 2:12.48 – for fifth with Ruby Storm finishing 7^th (2:13.13) in the women’s 200m freestyle S14. Neutral athlete Valeriia Shabalina won gold (2:05.10) ahead of the wall of Great Britain Poppy Maskill (2:07.16) and Louise Fiddes (2:07.91).

In the last final of the night featuring a Dolphin, triple Paralympian Jesse Aungles made the most of his chance, a big final lap – after touching eighth at the 50m mark - saw him finish sixth (1:08.36) in the men’s 100m backstroke S8. Spaniard Inigo Llopis Sanz (1:05.58) won the gold medal.

State of Swimming doers not have the resources to cover the Paralympics - thanks to the media officers at Aquatics GB, Swimming Australia and Swimming Canada for providing comprehensive coverage of their Paralympians in Paris.