A swimming sensation from St. Albert has claimed a silver medal at the Paralympics.
St. Albert resident Reid Maxwell won silver in the Men’s 400 m freestyle – S8 event held Sept. 4 at the La Défense Arena during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Maxwell was the youngest Canadian athlete at the games, having turned 17 on Sept. 2. He was born without a lower right leg and has prune belly syndrome (the near or total absence of abdominal muscles).
Reached in Paris Sept. 5, Maxwell said he was super happy with his performance.
“It’s an honour to represent my country, let alone win a medal.”
Record-setting swims
Maxwell placed ninth and 10th in the Men’s 100 m backstroke – S8 and Men’s 200 m individual medley – SM8, respectively, earlier in the Paralympics, meaning he did not advance to the finals for those events.
Maxwell said he didn’t expect to do too well in those events in any case (though he came close to his personal best in the 200 m), and instead used them to familiarize himself with the venue and its raucous, football-stadium-sized crowd.
“The crowds here are surreal,” he said.
“They’re so many people in the stands, and they’re so passionate about swimming.”
Maxwell set a new Americas record during the qualifiers for the 400 m freestyle and had the best overall time, netting him the centre lane in the finals. He said the centre spot gave him a big confidence boost and let him keep an eye on all his competitors during the race.
Maxwell said he felt strong and smooth as he leapt from the starting block during the finals, and was neck-and-neck with Italy’s Alberto Amodeo for the first half of the race.
“I think I was ahead of him for the first 200 m, and around the 250 mark he started pulling ahead of me. That last 50, I was just trying to chase him down.”
Maxwell finished with a time of 4:23.90, just 0.67 seconds behind Amodeo. That time earned Maxwell the silver — his first Paralympic medal — and set yet another a new Americas record for the event.
“It was a close race,” he said.
Maxwell said he was so out of breath when he finished the race that he didn’t initially comprehend that he had taken the silver. It wasn’t until he got out of the pool and walked through the media area that it all sunk in. Standing on the podium soon after, he got his first good look at the crowd.
“When you’re looking up and you see all these people, it’s insane.”
Maxwell’s silver medal features a view of the underside of the Eiffel Tower on one side and a hexagonal piece of iron from the tower itself on the other. Also included with the medal were a box for it, a Paralympic Games poster, and a plushie of the Paralympic Games mascot, The Phryge (a red, smiling, anthropomorphic arrow-shaped Phrygian cap with a prosthetic leg). The Canadian Paralympic Committee will also award Maxwell $15,000 for his silver medal.
Maxwell competed in the 100 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly events later in the Paralympics but did not make the finals.
Last Paralympics for Young?
Former Legal resident Arinn Young helped Team Canada reach the Paralympic medal round in wheelchair basketball for the first time in 20 years last week, where they faced China for the bronze medal.
Young said Team Canada didn’t have a great start in that match, whereas China was firing on all cylinders, with some players regularly making shots from the 18-foot line.
“They just had the game of their lives,” she said.
China beat Canada 65-43 to take the bronze.
While a medal would have been great, Young said she was still incredibly proud of what the team accomplished. She did a lap around the court after the final buzzer to thank the enthusiastic crowd.
“The atmosphere was absolutely crazy,” said Young, whose voice was noticeably hoarse from shouting over the crowd’s cheering during the final.
“It definitely felt like the country of France was behind Canada.”
Young said she didn’t have time to see many other events during the Paralympics as she was too busy with her own, but did manage to visit the Eiffel Tower with her family.
Young said she wasn’t sure if she would be back for the next Paralympics in 2028, but her teammates encouraged her to stick around for the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Ottawa in 2026. She planned to take a week’s break in Canada before heading back to Europe to resume her professional wheelchair basketball career.
“This was an absolutely great Paralympic Games for our team and myself in general,” she said.
“As much as it ended on a sour note, I’m still incredibly proud to represent my country and play the sport I love.”
Visit www.paralympic.org/paris-2024 for full Paralympic results.
