Canada’s Aurélie Rivard clinched a bronze medal during the Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, Calif., marking Day 2 of the competition. Rivard, a 13-time Paralympic medalist and three-time Paralympic champion in the S10 400 freestyle category, finished third in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final. The 30-year-old athlete from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., secured 933 points by clocking a time of 4 minutes 37.04 seconds, placing second.

Lakeisha Patterson from Australia, competing in the S9 category, claimed the gold medal with 986 points after finishing in 4:40.35. She surpassed the initial leader, S10 American Ali Truwit, who touched the wall first in 4:31.52 but earned 971 points. Mary Jibb from Bracebridge, Ont., finished eighth in 4:47.89, accumulating 848 points.

Points awarded in the competition are based on the proximity of a swimmer’s time to the world record standard for their specific classification. The closer the time is to the record, the higher the points earned.

Aurélie Rivard expressed her joy after making a comeback to international competition following a year away. She emphasized the significance of the race and her determination to improve further, stating that she believes she can achieve better results.

In other Canadian performances, Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, B.C., secured fourth place in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB4-6, 8-9, 11, 13-14 final. Naohide Yamaguchi of Japan, the 2020 SB14 Paralympic champion, set a new world record with a time of 1:02.38.

Reid Maxwell from St. Albert, Alta., finished fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle S6-9, S11, S13 event. Viewers can watch the Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with Day 3 preliminaries starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the final session at 8:30 p.m. ET.