Para swimmer Suzuki Fights off Fatigue for 2nd Medal in 2 Nights

By Satoshi Morii / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

14:48 JST, September 1, 2024

PARIS — Veteran swimmer Takayuki Suzuki was still feeling some fatigue after giving Japan its first gold medal at the Paris Paralympics the previous day. It didn’t stop him from added a silver medal to the tally.

“I went into the race knowing what I was capable of,” the 37-year-old Suzuki said after finishing second in the men’s 100-meter freestyle in the S4 physical impairment class on Friday.

Suzuki clocked 1 minute 21.71 seconds, a time very close to his personal best, to follow up on his victory in the 50 breaststroke SB3 class on Thursday.

In Friday’s race, Suzuki was in the back upon surfacing after the start, but moved into fourth place by the 50-meter turn. It seemed like he was holding back, and he turned on the jets in the second half of the race.

Suzuki gradually narrowed the gap with the leaders and squeezed into second place just at the finish.

Suzuki had won the event at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago and had been aiming for a repeat, but he was content with the silver medal. “I gave it my all and this is the color [of medal] that resulted,” he said.

As he grows older, it has become tougher to recover from fatigue, making him unable to go through the same workouts he did when he was younger. “I trained well under such circumstances,” he said.