Zsófia Konkoly already won a gold medal in her first race at the Paris Paralympics in the 400m freestyle, but the best is yet to come, as the main event for the student of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Pécs is the butterfly, which is still a few days away.
The 22-year-old from Pécs has now secured the Hungarian delegation's first podium finish at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Zsófia won the preliminary heat in the morning and qualified for the evening final with the second-best time, where she finished first in 4:39.78 after an amazing run. This week, the gold medallist swimmer has three events left: the 100m backstroke S9, the 200m medley SM9 and Zsófi's main event, the 100m butterfly S9.
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100 m backstroke S9:
Preliminary race: 3 September, 9:45
Final: 3 September, 17:44
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200 m medley SM9:
Preliminary: 5 September, 10:38
Final: 5 September, 18:53
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100 m butterfly S9:
Preliminary: 6 September, 10:39
Final: 6 September, 18:40
„I wanted to get a podium finish, I thought it was realistic, but I was surprised to get gold, I'm very happy, but I still have three more events to go," said Zsófia Konkoly, adding, "It was a big weight off my shoulders, because I wanted to go home with a medal, and now I have it. Apart from the 100m backstroke, the other two events are the ones I still really like, so I'm really looking forward to them. But in the 100 backstroke, I'm aiming for the final at the most." In the 100m butterfly, the para-swimmer has her sights set on the podium again, but here she has a new and strong opponent in the field, but says she will have to fight it out with everyone in the end.
Congratulations from the bottom of our hearts! Go, Zsófi!
Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
Bence Iván, para-swimmer, student of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of UP, finished 10th in the 200m medley at the Paralympics in the SM6 category. Csenge Hotz of the Pécs Vörös Meteor Sports Club will also compete in three events this week.
Although Alexandra Szabó, a student of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, started her group matches with a victory, the PEAC athlete unfortunately went down in the quarter-finals in bocce after two defeats.
The Paralympic schedule for UP students is summarised here.
Cover photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
