US Paralympic Swimming | Austin Winnett and Nofer break American records in Parapan en route to gold in Santiago

Santiago Chile – Evan Austin (Terre Haute, Ind.) made a statement on day five of the 2023 Parapan American Games Santiago, winning his event in record-breaking fashion to show he’s serious about another Paralympic run.

Austin beat Colombian Carlos Serrano into the wall and punched the air victoriously, taking the men’s 50m butterfly S7 in a record time of 29.31 seconds at the Parapan Am. The reigning Paralympic champion had taken a break from the sport after the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, but decided to give Paris a try, with the journey starting on Wednesday in Santiago.

“I stepped away from the sport to do some professional development and explore some career options after swimming,” the 31-year-old explained. “What ended up being the deciding factor (for the comeback) was that I did what I set out to do as a kid, which was win some medals for Team USA. But my family wasn’t there (at Tokyo 2020). So, if I can repeat something… Like this with my family and friends in the audience, it would mean the world, put the cherry on top of a fun career.

Team USA collected 10 medals — 34 total — and broke three records on Wednesday. One of those records originated from Taylor Winnett (Hershey, Pennsylvania), which continued its successful run in Parapan Ams. Her gold in the women’s 100m butterfly S10 was her fourth medal – the second win in Santiago – and perhaps her most important after lowering the Parapan Am record that had stood for eight years to 1:09.35. Once again, the race was between Winette and Michaela Jenkins (Evansville, Ind.), who was only 0.55 behind her compatriot. Jenkins won her second medal in Santiago, in addition to her bronze in the 400-meter freestyle.

“This morning I was very anxious, and in the call room just before we went up, Rachel (Kane) came up and said, ‘Can I pray for you?’ And that’s all I could ask for from a teammate. Michaela came over and gave me a hug before the race,” Winnett said. “It’s very difficult because you want your teammates to win and succeed, but you also want to win and succeed. “To have teammates who are cheering me on, and hopefully feeling encouraged by me, means everything because swimming is an inherently individual sport.”

“Knowing that my name will be on Parapan AM Records is an honour,” she added. “So many women have paved this way for us, and I’m grateful that the Paralympics exist.”

Keegan Nott (Lake Villa, Ill.) was in complete control of the women’s 400-meter freestyle S9 to secure the gold medal and lead the U.S. sweep with Callie Prochaska (Fort Wayne, Indiana). Madeline White (Athens, Georgia) in silver and bronze respectively.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, and I’m happy to finally get it,” Knott said. “We worked on the flow and maintaining a long, powerful stroke. Even though it wasn’t the time I wanted, I was really happy with the way I executed it.

Grace Nover (Greenwood, Ind.) made the most of her only race in Santiago by claiming her first major international medal in record-setting style (27.90), taking the women’s 50-meter freestyle S13 in which she swam with S12 athletes.

“I knew it was going to be a dog fight, the girls are very strong, and coming in as a beginner I just wanted to have fun, take it all and leave it in the pool,” Neufer said.

Megan Giuffrida (Towson, Maryland) concluded her international debut with a silver medal in the women’s 50m freestyle S6, and completed her medal haul with gold in the 200m IM SM6 and bronze in the 100m backstroke S6. Mackenzie Cowan (Clarksville, Georgia) was thrilled to take home a bronze medal in the S8 equivalent event, especially considering the S7 athlete was swimming in her class.

Shortly after her own race, Kwan had to turn her attention to swim the final leg of the 4 x 100-meter medley relay for 34 points. She helped Team USA take home the silver medal with Jack O’Neill, Emmett Martin and Taylor Winnett.

Competition resumes on Thursday (November 23) at 9 a.m. local time with day six of preliminary qualifying. All sessions will be broadcast live on Pan Am Sports channel. Follow US Paralympic Swimming Facebook, Twitteretc Instagram.

For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Paralympic Communications at [email protected].

Team USA Medals – November 22

*Indicates the US Parapan Games record

gold

Evan Austin – Men’s 50m Butterfly S7*

Taylor Winette – Women’s 100m Butterfly S10*

Keegan Knott – Women’s 400m Freestyle S9

silver

Michaela Jenkins – Women’s 100m Butterfly S10

Grace Nofer – Women’s 50m Freestyle, Class 13*

Kali Prochaska – Women’s 400m Freestyle S9

Megan Giuffrida – Women’s 50m Freestyle S6

Jack O’Neill, Emmett Martin, Taylor Winnett, Mackenzie Cowan – 4×100 medley medley relay 34 points.

Bronze

Madeline White – Women’s 400m Freestyle S9

Mackenzie Cowan (S7) – Women’s 50 meter freestyle, S8

Other Team USA results:

Rachel Kane – 4th place, women’s 100m butterfly, S10 category

Carson Bruner – 4th place, men’s 400 freestyle S9

Aden Williams – 5th place, men’s 50m butterfly S7

Yassin Al-Demerdash – fifth place, men’s 100-meter butterfly, S10

Evan Wilkerson – 5th place, Men’s 100m Freestyle S12

Jeff Lovett – 5th, Men’s 200m, IM SM14

William Rankin – 6th place, Men’s 100m Freestyle S12

Emmett Martin – 7th place, Men’s 100m Butterfly S10

Haven Shepherd – 7th place, women’s 50m freestyle S8

Trevor Lukasko – 7th, men’s 200m, IM SM14

Piper Sadowski – 8th, women’s 200m, IM SM14

Abigail Kershaw – 5th place, women’s 200m, IM SM14 (Round 2)