Paralympics: McKenzie Coan swims her way to glory as Team USA keeps racking up medals
Tokyo, Japan - Yet another swimming Paralympian has made it to the podium for Team USA!
McKenzie Coan (25), appearing in her third career Paralympics, repeated as the gold medal winner in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S7 final on Sunday.
Her event is classified for competitors who have full use of their arms and trunk with some leg function, despite physical limitations by amputations or cerebral palsy, for example. Coan was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta, a connective tissue disorder that can hamper her range of motion throughout her body.
She finished first at 5:05.84 for her second straight Paralympic gold in this race. This now makes it four total golds for her, adding to the three she earned during the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
She was able to hold off Italy’s Giulia Terzi, who finished at 5:06.32 for the silver medal. Coan’s teammate, Julia Gaffney won bronze with 5:11.89.
The 50 and 100-meter freestyles, the 100-meter backstroke, and the 50-meter butterfly are still to come for Coan, as she looks to continue adding to the medal count in Tokyo.
Once a winter gold medalist, Gretsch gets gold also in the summer
Meanwhile, Para-triathlete Kendall Gretsch won gold in the women’s PTWC race on Sunday with a winning time of 1:06:25, becoming the fifth American in history to win gold in both the winter and summer Paralympic Games.
Gretsch was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects her mobility, but allows her to still compete with the use of a recumbent handcycle on the bike course and a racing wheelchair during the running portion, to go along with the swimming segment of the race.
Gretsch, who previously won two gold medals in Nordic skiing events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, was at the top of the podium in her first-ever Paralympic triathlon, despite having won previous international races heading into Tokyo.
She crossed the finish line first ahead of Australia’s Lauren Parker (1:06:26) who ended up with the silver and Spain’s Eva Moral finished in third place.
Cover photo: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT