The script was similar to that of the 100 meters, two days ago. This Saturday (31), in his second event at the Paris Paralympic Games, Gabriel Araújo, known as Gabrielzinho, from Minas Gerais, gave his opponents no chance in the 50-meter backstroke, class S2 (athletes with a high level of physical and motor limitations) and secured his second gold medal in France.
Now, the athlete, who is only 22 years old, has already won five Paralympic medals in his career, three gold and two silver. In the 50m backstroke, he is now a two-time Paralympic champion.
Even though it was a race with only one lap in the pool, Gabrielzinho opened up a big lead right from the start and only kept opening up more and more. He finished the 50 meters in 50.93 seconds, a personal best and a record for the Americas. The second-place finisher, Russian Vladimir Danilenko, who competed under a neutral flag, finished more than six seconds later (57.54 seconds). The third-place finisher, Chilean Alberto Caroly Abarza Díaz, finished in 58.12 seconds.
Gabrielzinho, responsible for almost a third of Brazil’s seven gold medals in Paris so far, is still competing in three other events in the pools at the Arena La Defense. This Sunday (1), he will compete in the 150-meter medley in the S3 class, for athletes with slightly lower physical and motor impairments. On Monday (2), he will swim the 200-meter freestyle, back in S2. Finally, on the 6th, the Brazilian will participate in the 50-meter freestyle in S3.
