A South Surrey-based Para swimmer is on his way back to Canada on Cloud Nine, after a stunning gold-medal win at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Sebastian Massabie also smashed a world record after swimming to his gold-medal victory – also Canada’s first-ever medal in the S4 sport class – in the men's S4 50-m freestyle event Friday (Sept. 6) in 35.61, breaking previous world record-holder Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel, who finished third in 37.11. Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki finished second in 36.85.
Massabie knocked .64 off Dadaon’s previous mark, taking an early lead and finishing strong.
He recalled feeling happy and excited – and proud of himself.
"I felt amazed and surprised with myself," he said via email, while en route home to Canada with his coach, Pacific Sea Wolves' Jy Lawrence.
"As soon as I saw that I had won, I immediately looked into the crowd for my parents, who were able to watch me in Paris."
Lawrence said Massabie handled the pressure "really well."
“I am so immensely proud of Sebastian," Lawrence said. "He handled himself so well in a hugely stressful environment and executed exactly what we have worked towards. He accomplished what every coach and swimmer pair dream of!"
Massabie entered the final seeded first after advancing through his preliminary heat with a Paralympic and Canadian record 36.95. Earlier in the meet, he broke his Canadian records in both heats and finals of the 100 and 200 free, finishing fifth and sixth.
Massabie is one of 10 Paralympic rookies on this year’s team. He described his first Games experience as a five-star experience.
"It’s been great! The village food is amazing and the beds are really good. I like the Lululemon gear and the swimming has been amazing," he said, while still in Paris.
Earlier this year at the 2024 Paralympic Trials, Massabie – who has cerebral palsy that affects his left side – broke six Canadian records in the S4 class: the S4 50m freestyle, S4 100m freestyle, S4 200m freestyle, S4 50m backstroke, SM4 150m individual medley and S4 50m butterfly, setting a new world record in the butterfly with a time of 38.68 seconds.
He further broke the new butterfly record he had just set on July 29 at the Canadian Swimming Championships with a time of 38.02 seconds, having already set a precedent in the preliminaries with 38.48 seconds. During the competition, he also improved upon the national records he had set earlier in the S4 50m freestyle, S4 200m freestyle and SM4 150m individual medley events.
Massabie said trying to stay focused in a much larger crowd than he is used to was a challenge, as well as having to adapt to different schedules, but overall, thoroughly enjoyed the Paralympic experience.
He said he is proud of himself, as well as winning gold and breaking a world record, and hopes to compete at future Paralympics.
"I hope that my performance has left others (para or not) to be inspired and do the impossible."
Also in the pool, Surrey swimmer Arianna Hunsicker finished fifth in her women's S10 100m backstroke heat, narrowly missing qualifying for the evening's final.
She also finished seventh in her heat in the Women's S10 100m freestyle Sunday (Sept. 1), and on Monday, Sept. 2, Hunsicker participated in the 4x100-m mixed 34-point medley relay team, swimming freestyle; she and her team finished eighth in 4:50.00.
