Ukrainian swimmers win 7 gold medals in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Ukraine’s bid for gold is going swimmingly. Over the past few days, the Ukrainian swimming team has grabbed seven gold medals, most of them won on Aug. 28. 

As of Aug. 29, the Ukrainian team had won 10 gold medals, including one in powerlifting, another in rowing, and the third in athletics. 

Ukraine’s achievements didn’t go unnoticed. The organizing committee of Tokyo 2020’s Olympics and Paralympics praised team Ukraine on Twitter the same day, referring with awe to the swimmer’s performance that brought them five golds in a row.

“Ukraine absolutely dominated the para-swimming tonight. A total of five gold medals! Woah,” the committee’s official account showed.

Maksym Krypak won gold in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking a new world Paralympic record at 50.64 seconds. The performance brought Krypak his sixth gold medal and fifth overall medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 

The first Ukrainian swimmer to win gold was Yelyzaveta Mereshko, with the best time for the 100-meter breaststroke. She also won gold in the 50-meter breaststroke.

Mykhailo Serbin won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, with fellow Ukrainian swimmer Viktor Smirnov placing close second, grabbing the silver. 

Ievhenii Bohodaiko, Ukraine’s swimming superstar, won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, re-securing his place as world champion after placing third at the qualifiers. He had already won six gold, five silver, and two bronze medals at previous Paralympic Games.

Denys Dubrov won gold in the 200-meter distance swim, while Anna Stetsenko took first place at the women’s 400-meter freestyle.

Ukraine has also won silver medals in wheelchair fencing, women’s judo, and men’s shot put, as well as bronze in men’s judo and table tennis. 

As of Aug. 29, Ukraine ranked fourth behind the Russian Olympic Committee and before Australia, thanks to its team that won 42 medals since the beginning of the competition. 

Ukraine sent 139 athletes to compete in 15 sports — including archery, athletics, badminton, cycling, goalball, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and taekwondo — for this year’s edition, delayed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ukraine’s Paralympic team has been a force to be reckoned with for several Paralympic Games. In 2016 at the Rio Paralympics, Ukraine won 27 gold medals, while in the 2012 London Paralympics, Ukraine won 32 gold medals. 

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games started on Aug. 24 and will end on Sept. 5.

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