Four records fall on opening day of 2024 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Nearly one hundred Para swimmers descended upon the Rosen Aquatic Center in Orlando, Florida, to participate in the opening day of the 2024 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships presented by Toyota. An action-packed year that included a historic 30-medal haul by Team USA in Paralympic swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the yearly national championship event brings an opportunity for both distinguished Paralympians and rising talent alike to finish off the season with experience and a fresh set of qualifying times before the years’ end.

The first day provided an invaluable platform for the next generation of Paralympic swimmers as three athletes smashed records between the preliminary and final sessions. In her first national championship appearance, Katie Kubiak picked up an American record in the women’s 50m backstroke S4 class while Aiden Stivers broke both the Americas and American record in the men’s 200m breaststroke SB9. Fifteen-year-old Koehn Boyd made history with an American record in the men’s 100m butterfly S10 and Americas record in the men’s 400m IM SM10.

The first night of finals included podium appearances by four Paris 2024 Paralympians including a double win by three-time Paralympic medalist Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) and two podium appearances from Paralympic silver medalist Grace Nuhfer (Indianapolis, Indiana). Additionally, Paralympic medalist Morgan Ray (St. Augustine, Florida) and two-time Paralympian Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland) each picked up second-place finishes in their respective events.

Competition will resume on Saturday, Dec. 14 with preliminary sessions starting at 9 a.m. ET and finals starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. All races are mixed class, and results based on the World Para Swimming points system to create an equitable field of play among the different classes. The evening finals are being streamed live on the U.S. Paralympics Swimming website and Facebook page. For full timed results, click here.

For interview and photo requests, please contact Annemarie.Blanco@usopc.org .

Day 1 Results – WPS Points

Women’s 400m Freestyle S6-14

1. Olivia Chambers – S13

2. Grace Nuhfer – S13

3. Cara Pennington – S9

Men’s 400m Freestyle S6-14

1. Koehn Boyd – S10

2. Braxton Wong – S9

3. Owen McNear – S9

Women’s 50m Backstroke S1-5

1. Katie Kubiak – S4

2. Gray Rutledge – S2

3. Eden Schroeder – S1

Men’s 50m Backstroke S1-5

1. Gabe Marsh – S4

Women’s 200m Breaststroke SB1-9, SB11-14

1. Olivia Chambers – SB13

2. Adelaide Gassman – SB9

3. Cali Prochaska – SB8

Men’s 200m Breaststroke SB1-9, SB11-14

1. Aiden Stivers – SB9

2. Morgan Ray – SB6

3. Emmett Martin – SB9

Women’s 100m Butterfly S8-14

1. Grace Nuhfer – S13

2. Liberty Freeman – S9

3. Chloe Cederholm – S10

Men’s 100m Butterfly S8-14

1. Koehn Boyd – S10

2. Lawrence Sapp – S14

3. Trevor Lukacsko – S14

Women’s 50m Butterfly S2-7

1. Abbey Nardella – S6

2. Mia Clark – S7

3. Gabi Schopperth – S7

Men’s 50m Butterfly S2-7

1. Adin Williams – S7

2. Noah Thomas – S6

3. Morgan Ray – S6

Women’s 400m IM SM5-14

1. Piper Sadowski – SM14

Men’s 400m IM SM5-14

1. Koehn Boyd – SM10

2. Sawyer Mills – SM10

3. Tyler Matheny – SM10

Mixed 400m Mixed Freestyle Relay, 34pts

1. Ryan Eidelman, Tomas Rodriguez, Bebe Kiel, Cali Prochaska

2. Elise Morley, Noah Thomas, Emily Reid, Tyler Matheny

3. Nathan Ferguson, Maria Francescotta, Dylan Klink, Jaydon Hinton