PARIS – Two U.S. swimmers snagged gold medals on day three of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena. Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) won the second Paris 2024 gold medal in her Paralympic debut in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S13. Four-time Paralympian and reigning women’s 200-meter individual medley SM7 champion Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minnesota) won her second consecutive gold medal in the event. 2020 Paralympic bronze medalist Julia Gaffney (Little Rock, Arkansas) earned a second straight bronze medal, joining Weggeman on the medal stand.

Chambers led her race from start to finish, holding off her opponents through every turn until she touched the wall and realized she was a Paralympic champion.

“Honestly, I had no idea where I was in the pool. When I touched and saw I was the only one at the wall, it was a crazy feeling. I just got super excited,” Chambers said. “Five years ago, when I went blind, I never imagined that I’d be here. I had to push through a lot of hard days to be where I’m at now.”

The newly crowned Paralympic gold medalist credits swimming for helping her through an extremely difficult time following the loss of her sight. “Honestly swimming is what kept me going. I found ways to do it and found ways to continue doing what I love and even though I was losing my sight and the world around me was changing, I still had swimming and that carried me through,” she said.

Chambers won the second gold medal and third medal overall for the U.S. women’s S13 squad following Gia Pergolini’s gold on Friday and Grace Nuhfer’s silver on Thursday. Having such a tight knit group has been extremely valuable for she and her teammates.

“When I first went blind, I had no one and so being here and having three other amazing girls who have been through similar things, it just means a whole lot. I feel like it’s the core of our relationship. Yes, we’re competitors but we’re friends first. We’re competing for the same country. It’s just a lot of fun to get to see them do so well and want to do the same thing,” Chambers added.

Chambers will be back in the pool in the women’s 50-meter freestyle S13 on Monday.

Weggemann has been through quite the journey since winning her women’s 200-meter individual medley SM7 gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and shortly after winning her sixth Paralympic medal, Weggemann reflected on winning her first piece of hardware since becoming a mom to 17-month-old daughter Charlotte.

“There’s so much to this journey these past three years and there was a point a year ago where I thought I was going to be done. I thought retirement was really the only path because quite frankly as a mom, it feels daunting. There’s not enough of us doing it, where it makes the path feel a little isolating and lonely,” Weggemann said.

Despite all the trials and tribulations, she faced on her way back to the top of the medal stand, she stayed the course. After her medal ceremony, Weggemann held her daughter with her brand-new gold medal draped around her neck. She said there were no words for what she felt in that moment.

“Winning Paralympic gold as a mom is something that I’ve dreamed of. Competing as a mom is something I’ve dreamed of but having those two things today come into fruition. Tonight, being on the podium and seeing them and afterward getting to hold her. It is such a joy and such an honor and there is so much love and life filling this moment that I truly could not be happier,”

Weggemann will compete again on Thursday in the women’s 50-meter freestyle S8.

Gaffney swam her way back on to a second straight medal stand with a strong performance in the women’s 200-meter individual medley SM7. She stayed in medal contention throughout the race and turned it on over the final 50 meters to earn her second straight Paralympic bronze medal.

“It was amazing. Just to be in front of this crowd. In Tokyo, we don’t have that. My family’s here. My siblings, cousins. I saw them at the end. To be able to here and race for Team USA just means the world. To be on the podium with Mallory Weggemann is just so exciting,” Gaffney said.

She wanted to turn up the speed after a slower race in the morning. “I feel much better from this morning. This morning, I felt like my tempo was a little slow so I said let’s get going. I felt a lot more nervous, so I said just used that as excitement,” she said. “The breaststroke is my weakest stroke so I thought hang in there and as soon as I turned I said ’head down and go,’” Gaffney added.

Gaffney will return to the pool on the final day of competition in the 50-meter butterfly S7.

Two-time Paralympian Anastasia Pagonis (Long Island, New York) closed out the day for the U.S. squad with an eighth-place finish in the women’s 50-meter freestyle S11.

Six-time Paralympian and 29-time Paralympic medalist Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland) entered the pool for the first time in Paris on Saturday in the women’s 100-meter backstroke S8, swimming a time of 1:21.28 to place sixth in the event. She will look to win her fifth Paralympic gold medal in the women’s 200-meter individual medley SM8 on Sunday.

Four-time Paralympian Evan Austin (Terre Haute, Indiana) placed sixth in the men’s 200-meter individual medley S7 in his event opener. He will compete again on Monday in the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7.

Jack O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colorado) also competed for the first time at the Paralympic Games on Saturday morning, and he attempted to soak up every bit of the moment at the Paris La Defense Arena. He was one of two swimmers to represent Team USA in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S8 and his 1:11.09 time placed him in eleventh. He is now done with his Paralympic Games competition.

His teammate Matthew Torres (Ansonia, Connecticut) is returning to Paralympic Games action in Paris after an appearance in Tokyo. Torres finished just behind O’Neil in the twelfth spot, swimming the men’s 100-meter backstroke S8 at 1:11.72. He will compete in his signature event, the 400-meter backstroke S8, on Wednesday. Torres won bronze in that event in Tokyo.

First-time Paralympian Evan Wilkerson (Rolesville, North Carolina) opened for Team USA in the first race of the day, competing in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S12. He finished ninth with a time of 1.06 in his debut race. He will return to the pool on Wednesday in the men’s 100-meter freestyle S12.

Team USA Medals:

Olivia Chambers – gold, women’s 400-meter freestyle, S13

Mallory Weggemann – gold, women’s 200-meter individual medley SM7

Julia Gaffney – bronze, women’s 200-meter individual medley SM7

Other Team USA Results:

Evan Wilkerson, men’s 100-meter freestyle, S12

Jack O’Neil – 11th, men’s 100-meter backstroke S8

Matthew Torres – 12th, men’s 100-meter backstroke S8

Jessica Long – 6th, women’s 100-meter backstroke S8

Evan Austin – 6th, men’s 200-meter individual medley S7

Morgan Stickney – 7th, women’s 200-meter individual medley S7

Anastasia Pagonis – 8th, women’s 50-meter freestyle S11

Chambers and Weggemann Take Gold on a Second Straight Three Medal Day at Paris 2024

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