Swimmer Kimura gives Japan 2nd gold at Paris Paralympic Games with 50m freestyle win; Backstroke swimmer Kubota wins silver

PARIS — Swimmer Keiichi Kimura earned Japan its second gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games when he won the men’s 50-meter freestyle in the S11 class for the visually impaired on Saturday.

Fellow swimmer Kota Kubota added a silver medal to Japan’s list of honours by finishing second in the men’s 100-metre backstroke in the S8 class for people with physical disabilities.

Kimura’s gold in 25.98 seconds followed Takayuki Suzuki’s victory in the men’s 50m breaststroke in the SB3 disability category on Thursday.

For Kimura, it was the ninth Paralympic medal of his career and his second gold medal after winning the men’s 100-meter butterfly at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He also previously won a medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Kimura, who had finished fourth in qualifying with a time of 26.74 seconds, led from the start in the final and maintained the lead by 0.13 seconds.

“It was perfect from the warm-up to the moment I hit the wall at the finish,” Kimura said of his sub-26-second victory.

The Shiga Prefecture native, who lost his eyesight at age 2 due to a congenital defect, is competing in his fifth straight Paralympic Games, which were held in Beijing in 2008. On Friday, he will attempt to defend his 100-meter butterfly title.

Kubota finished second in his race in 1 minute 7.03 seconds, better than his qualifying time of 1:07.56, but also well below his personal best of 1:05.56.

“I’m a little bit unhappy,” Kubota said. “The time wasn’t what I expected and if I had done my personal best I could have won the gold.”

Spain’s Inigo Llopis Sanz won gold in 1:05.58.

Kubota, born in Chiba Prefecture, was born with a deformed left arm and swims with his right arm and legs. He finished fifth in the event at the Tokyo Paralympics and won silver at last year’s world championships.