Team USA wins four medals in Montreal

Team USA continued on trend today, winning four more medals at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec. The U.S. team has won 16 medals (seven gold, six silver, three bronze) through four days of competition and is ranked fifth in the overall medal standings.

Ian Silverman (Baltimore, Md.) continued his dominance at his first world championships by winning his third medal of the meet, bronze, in the men's 200IM individual medley SM10 with a finish time of 2:14.42.

Teammate Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nev.) also racked up her third medal of the competition; she won silver in the women's 100m backstroke S7 in 1:25.32

"That was right on my time in London so I can't be upset with that," said Jordan. "I've still got the relay to go tonight, too, and that's always so much fun because we race as a team, and we always go faster when we're working together."

Tucker Dupree (Clinton Township, Mich.) won bronze in the men's 50 free S12 in 24.65. Dupree, the 2012 Paralympic bronze medalist in the same event, was all smiles after the race.

"It's almost the same time I went in London," said Dupree. "Being a year past the Games, I'm pleased with that."

When asked about his thoughts on competing in Rio in 2016, Dupree a two-time Paralympian simply replied, "One year at a time."

The crowd was on its feet for the last event of the night - the women's 4x100m freestyle relay 34pt. The U.S. team comprised of Cortney Jordan, Anna Johannes (Alexandria, Va.), Elizabeth Smith (Muncie, Ind.), and Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.) won bronze in an exciting fight to the finish. Long, the relay anchor, entered the water trailing Canada's Brianna Nelson by 10 seconds. Long closed hard, but ran out of pool before Nelson touched the wall at 4:35.41 for silver, with Long a fraction behind at 4:35.95. Great Britain won the gold in 4:27.95.

"I've never swam in front of a crowd that big before," said Smith. "Being part of a relay team makes me not as nervous; I was actually calmer racing tonight that I am in individual events."

There were also a few PRs on the day.

Haley Beranbaum (Snohomish, Wash.), 17, who is competing in her first world championships, finished in fifth with a PR in the women's 200m individual medley SM5 in 4:15.73.

"All I can say is that I can feel my legs right now," said a breathless Beranbaum. "The girl in the third lane next to me made me push myself harder, I definitely swam faster because of her."

Noga Nir-Kistler (Allentown, Pa.) set a PR in the women's 200m individual medley SM6 with a time of 3:21.22. She narrowly missed her second podium of the competition, touching the wall in fourth position.

"I did my best, and I can't do anything more than that," said Nir-Kistler with a smile.

Tharon Drake (Hobbs, N.M.) cut more than a second off of his time in the men's 100m free S11, finishing in 1:05.01.

"That was a really good time for me," said Drake. "That's the first improvement in my time in the 50 in two years, so I'm happy."

Team USA co-captain Cheryl Angelelli (Clinton Township, Mich.), who has been voted by her teammates as a team captain for every season that she's competed since 2002, says this young, new roster has her really excited for the future of U.S. Paralympics swimming.

"It's very exciting to see all of the new faces, and I think we're poised to have a really strong team in Rio," said Angelelli. "I think all of this talent is really promising for the future and for the growth of the Paralympic team in the U.S."

The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships run through August 18 and feature approximately 500 athletes, including 24 U.S. athletes, from nearly 60 countries. Live streaming from the competition can be seen at www.paralympic.org/events/montreal-2013/live-stream and for live results, visit www.paralympic.org/events/montreal-2013/live-results .

For more information contact Beth Bourgeois: U.S. Paralympics, at 719-306-5639 or at beth.bourgeois@usoc.org.

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