Day 2 of U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships Is In The Books

ORLANDO, Fla. — The penultimate day of competition at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships had a lot to live up to. After two world record breaking swims on Day 1, it was going to be hard to top that. 

But Saturday at the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center in Orlando, Florida, three new world records were set.  

Olivia Chambers, a six-time medalist at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships, broke the world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle S13 with a time of 17:53.84.

“I honestly had no idea what the world record was in that. It was a big shock to see that I broke it,” Chambers said. “I haven't done the long course mile in a while so I was just really happy with how it went.”

Two-time Paralympic gold medalist Morgan Stickney also achieved the impressive feat not only once, but twice: swimming the 800m free S7 with a time of 10:14.47 and the 1,500m free S7 (19:21.20). 

In addition to the three world records, three new American records were set by world champion silver medalist Morgan Ray, who on night one had a world record swim in the men’s 200m breaststroke S6. 

Other standouts included three-time Paralympian Colleen Young, who was competing in her first meet since the world championships in August where she took home the silver in the 100m breaststroke.

Winning her second gold of the meet (this time in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB4-9, 11-14) was a positive gauge for Young who was looking at national championships as a chance to see how she was stacking up at the end of the year and so close to U.S. Paralympic Team Trials. 

“It’s a good indicator to see how my preparation is going for Trials in June and hopefully Paris later in the year,” she said. “So, seeing what we can do this week and getting an indication off that is great.”

On the men’s side, Jamal Hill took home gold in the men’s 50m freestyle S1-S13 and couldn’t have been happier with his performance — as well as his teammates. 

“Team USA is looking amazing,” he shouted. “We’re going to have a lot of gold medal finishes next year in Paris.”

The gold medal on the women’s side in the same event went to Gia Pergolini, who followed up from her world record swim in the women’s 50m backstroke S13 the day before.

“Breaking world records is fun — I wasn’t really expecting that, to be honest,” Pergolini said, laughing at the memory of how she didn’t get the news until a couple hours after her race. 

“It was funny, my mom and I were lying in bed after and one of the parents texted my mom saying, ‘You know Gia broke the world record?’” What was her reaction when her mom told her the good news? “Wow, cool! Okay, I want a nap now,” she laughed.

National Championships concludes on Sunday night, with finals live streamed on the U.S. Paralympics Swimming website and Facebook page.

Lisa Costantini has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than a decade, including for the International Olympic Committee. She is a freelance writer who has contributed to TeamUSA.com since 2011.