Tokyo Paralympics: Australia on top of medal tally after gold rush in the pool

Australia is sitting at the top of the medals table at the Paralympics after winning an incredible six golds on the opening day, led by our champion swimmers

The Australian pool party at Tokyo’s Aquatic Centre has started up again.

Following in the slipstream of Australia’s record breaking Olympic swimmers, the national Paralympic team have taken winning to a new level - picking up eight medals, including four golds, on the first night of finals in Japan.

Added to the two gold medals won in track cycling, Australia is sitting at the top of the Paralympics medals table after day one with six golds, one silver and three bronze medals.

The four won in the pool was almost half as many golds as the Dolphins won during the entire Olympic swimming program but the big difference this time is that it is Australia’s men providing the lion’s share.

Will Martin (400m freestyle), Ben Popham (100m freestyle) and Rowan Crothers (50m freestyle) all made it to the top step of the podium.

Will Martin of Australia celebrates with his gold medal after winning the Men's 400m Freestyle – S9 final. Picture: Getty Images

So did Lakeisha Patterson, who won the women’s 400m freestyle gold by a fingernail after a lung-bursting final lap battle with Hungary’s Zsofia Konkoly that she said left her “feeling more fried than a chook from KFC”.

Patterson won six medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics when she was still a teenager competing in the S8 category but has only entered two races in Tokyo, including a relay, after being reclassified as an S9 swimmer.

“It’s been a tough couple of years. I’ve gone through changes of classes,” said Patterson, who competes as an athlete with cerebral palsy after a stroke at birth.

“I’m competing up now, compared to what I was in Rio. Unfortunately I wasn’t selected to swim the 100m freestyle even though I would have liked to but I was still able to give it everything I had in this 400m freestyle.”

Ben Popham of Team Australia won gold in the men’ss 100m Freestyle - S8 final. Picture: Getty Images

Patterson’s victory came just moments after Martin’s shock win in the men’s S9 400m freestyle, an event he never even considered racing until after he had been picked in the team as a butterfly swimmer.,

“I didn‘t swim the 400m at the Australian trials. I actually did a time trial after and my coach said to me, ’oh, just swim it like this and see how it goes’ and so I did,“ Martin said.

“I ended up somehow pulling it out and then qualified for here and look at this, up the top.”

Martin won the gold in 4:10.25, just 0.32 outside of Hall’s world record. Hall just missed out on a medal as 16-year-old Sydneysider Alexander Tuckfield pipped him for the bronze.

Carruthers missed the world record by just 0.05 when he won the S10 splash and dash in 23.21 and celebrated in grand style, straddling the lane rope and raising his arms in the air before losing his balance and tumbling backwards into the water.

“In the moment, you’ve got to get up and celebrate. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come here,” he said.

Rowan Crothers of Team Australia celebrates won gold medal in the Men's 50m Freestyle - S10 heat. Picture: Getty Images

“To be swimming so fast and to be doing personal bests is wonderful. Especially right now with what‘s been happening over the past 12 months, there’s so much negativity and so many bad things happening in the world.”

Popham saved his best for last in the final race of day one.

Fifth when they turned for home after a slow getaway off the blocks, the 20-year-old surged to the front on the final length to win the gold in 57.37, battling tears as he turned and looked at the scoreboard to realise he had won.

Ben Hance won a bronze medal in the men’s S14 100m butterfly final while Paige Leonhardt won the silver and Ruby Storm the bronze in the women’s equivalent race.

AUSSIES ON TOP AFTER CLEANING UP IN THE POOL

If the national swimming selectors ever need a reminder about how Aussies can rise to the big occasion then all they need to do is take a look at Will Martin.

The 20-year-old Queenslander won the gold medal in the men’s S9 400m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics in a shock result because he wasn’t even picked to swim the event.

That’s right. Martin is a butterfly sprinter but found himself on the top step of the podium in middle distance freestyle because of an afterthought at the Australian trials in June.

With only two Australians – Brenden Hall and Alex Tuckfield – qualified, the Dolphins had the option of adding a third competitor for the Paralympics so Martin completed a time-trial to earn the spot then duly won the gold in 4:10.25, just 0.32 outside of Hall’s world record.

If the national swimming selectors ever need a reminder about how Aussies can rise to the big occasion then all they need to do is take a look at Will Martin. Picture: Getty Images

“I was in front and that’s just the way that I wanted to keep it,” Martin said.

“I was a tiny bit off so that’s a bit annoying but other than that, I’m pretty ecstatic.”

The selection policy for the Australian able-bodied swim team has been heavily criticised as needlessly ruthless because it is based purely on the results from trials so doesn’t take into account how much swimmers improve it needs changing.

“I didn’t swim the 400m at the Australian trials. I actually did a time trial after and my coach said to me, ‘oh, just swim it like this and see how it goes’ and so I did,” Martin said.

“I ended up somehow pulling it out and then qualified for here and look at this, up the top.”

‘MORE FRIED THAN A KFC CHOOK’: PATTERSON WINS GOLD

She is known to everyone in Australia as “lucky” but there was nothing fluky about Lakeisha Patterson’s stunning gold medal winning performance at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday.

Now racing in the S9 category after she was reclassified from S8, the 22-year-old held on to win the 400m freestyle final by a fingernail.

Like Ariarne Titmus when she beat Katie Ledecky in the same pool, it was pure guts from the Aussie who touched the wall first in 4:36.68, just 0.8 ahead of Hungary’s European champion Zsofia Konkoily, who tried to mow the Australian down on the last lap.

“It was such a tight race and I knew it was going to be a really tough one,” Patterson said.

“I knew I had to attack it from the start and I could briefly see out of the corner of my eye to the left in that last 50 metres how close the Hungarian was.

“I knew that I had given it everything I could and I was thinking back to back to all those training sessions.”

Following her victory, she told Channel 7 she knew it was going to be a “right race” and she was “feeling more friend than a chook from KFC”.

Lakeisha Patterson of Team Australia celebrates winning the gold medal in the Women's 400m Freestyle – S9 final. Picture: Getty Images

Patterson won six medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics when she was still a teenager and competing in S8 but has only entered two races in Tokyo, including a relay.

“It’s been a tough couple of years. I’ve gone through changes of classes. I’m competing up now compared to what I was in Rio,” said Patterson, who competes as an athlete with cerebral palsy after a stroke at birth.

“My main event is still the 400m freestyle and unfortunately I wasn’t selected to swim the 100m freestyle even though I would have liked to.

“I was still able to give it everything I had in this 400m freestyle and show everyone what I have been working towards. It’s so good to be able to get those results after five years of hard work.”

Originally published as Tokyo Paralympics: Australia on top of medal tally after gold rush in the pool