Competing at the highest World Para swimming level was an unforgettable experience for the three Peruvian Para swimmers who traveled to the London World Para Swimming Allianz Championships. Dunia Felices (S5 class), Rodrigo Santillán and Harrison Linares (S2 class) completed their participation at the London Aquatics Center, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with many useful learned lessons for the future.

Santillán, bronze in Lima 2019, competed first in the 100 m backstroke event and placed ninth in the final qualification. Meanwhile, he was in the reserve list for the 50 m backstroke final since he finished in the fifth position in the qualification heat and obtained one of the best times of the stage. Linares had a time of 2min2088c and placed sixth (behind Santillán) and 11th in the general score board.

Likewise, Dunia Felices participated in the second heat of the 50 m butterfly semifinals. The Lima 2019 bronze medalist placed sixth with a time of 59s73c. With this time, she broke her personal best by several hundredths. This progress allows her to dream with reaching the qualifying mark for Tokyo 2020.

Felices also participated in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 me freestyle events where she placed 14th in the first two events and 15th in the last one. Keeping our best Para athletes competing in this kind of events will allow them to improve for the following Olympic cycles.

The most transcendental Para event of the continent closed one of its most emblematic competitions: Para swimming. A set of intense finals were contested in this event, which amazed the public with the swimming skills of the best Para swimmers in the Americas.

The finals of this event had the participation of the delegations from Brazil and Colombia. The Brazilian players snatched eight gold medals. The performance of Gabriel dos Santos was outstanding. He claimed the gold in men’s 100 m freestyle S2 with a record of 2:04.60, surpassing the Chilean Alberto Abarza by four seconds.

His compatriot, Edenia Nogueira, set a Parapan American record of 57:02, winning the gold medal in women’s 50 m backstroke in the S3 category. Likewise, Esthefany de Oliveira set another record of 3:54.66, taking home the gold in 200 m individual medley in the S5 category.

Meanwhile, the Colombians picked up seven gold medals. The participation of Sara Vargas also stood out as she set a Parapan American record of 1:17.00, crowning herself the winner of the women’s 100 m freestyle in the S6 category.

Another exceptional performance was that of Nelson Crispin, who gave his country the gold medal in 100 m freestyle, 200 m individual medley in the SM6 category, 50 m freestyle in the S6 category, 100 m breaststroke in the SB6 category, and 50 m butterfly in the S6 category.

Moreover, the Mexican delegation collected four gold medals. One of the representatives who left his mark in the water was Diego López, who set the record of 45.06 in the 50 m backstroke final in the S3 category.

This way, one of the Paralympic sports that garnered the greatest expectation of the Peruvians at the National Sports Village ended on a high note, demonstrating that there is no impairment that between you and your goals because everything is possible with courage and determination.