Nicholas Bennett gold medal ceremony for the Men's 100m Breaststroke SB14 Final at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on September 2, 2024. (Image courtesy of Angela Burger/The Canadian Press/HO-Canadian Paralympic Committee)Nicholas Bennett gold medal ceremony for the Men's 100m Breaststroke SB14 Final at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on September 2, 2024. (Image courtesy of Angela Burger/The Canadian Press/HO-Canadian Paralympic Committee)
Sarnia

Swimmer brings home Canada's first 2024 Paralympic gold

Nicholas Bennett's gold medal is the first for the country in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

He won the 100 metre SB14 breaststroke in 1:03.98. Jake Michel of Australia came in second in 1:04.27. Japan's Naohide Yamaguchi, the world record holder and defending Paralympic champion, won bronze with a time of 1:04.94.

The 20-year-old told reporters he was more confident racing the breaststroke this time around, as he's worked on it "every day for the past year."

It's his second medal of the games after he won silver in the 200-metre freestyle.

Bennett is the reigning world champion and holds the world record in the 200-metre individual medley, which he'll race Wednesday. He will swim the 100 metre backstroke on Friday.

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