Double world champion in the 50m butterfly S6, the French swimmer, who lost an arm and a leg after a shark attack in 2016, easily qualified for the final of his flagship discipline on Tuesday, September 3, at Paris La Défense Arena. He achieved the third best time in the series.
One length. That’s all it took for Reunion swimmer Laurent Chardard, 29, to qualify for the final of his favorite event: the 50m butterfly S6 (which concerns amputees). World champion in this discipline in 2022 and 2023, the young man, attacked by a shark while surfing off the coast of Reunion in 2016, was eagerly awaited at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, where he hopes to win his first Paralympic medal.
The Reunion native showed himself to be in good shape in the immense Paralympic pool at Paris La Défense Arena. “I loved the first race”he assured the microphone of La 1ère once out of the pool. During the morning series, he finished second in his group, with a time of 32″15. But he will have to improve his time again at the end of the day if he wants to climb onto the top step of the podium.
The time is not great this morning. This afternoon, we have to swim harder. We are afternoon swimmers, so we will have to go for a time, look for a place.
Laurent Chardard, para swimmer from Reunion Island
Colombian Nelson Crispin Corzo (31″50) and Chinese Jingang Wang (32″02), bronze and gold medallists respectively at the Tokyo Games, did better than him. Before his final race, the para athlete will do a few lengths to try to make up the 25 hundredths of a second that separate him from first place.
The Reunion swimmer, supported by the public, will participate in the final of the 50 m butterfly on Tuesday at 6 p.m., Paris time. He will also be in the competition on Thursday, where he will be at the start of the 100 m freestyle S6.
