ERNIE Gawilan placed sixth in the final of the men’s 400m freestyle S7 of the 2024 Paralympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Gawilan clocked five minutes, 3.18 seconds in the event won by Federico Bicelli of Italy by 24.48 seconds ahead of the Filipino para swimmer.
The 33-year-old Gawilan advanced to the final in his final event after a time of 5:00.13 in Heat 2 – third best among the eight finalists and was even 6.51 seconds faster than the eventual gold medalist.
Gawilan also finished sixth in the same event for swimmers with leg disabilities during the Tokyo Paralympic Games with a time of 4:56.24.
In his first event in Paris, Gawilan placed last among six para swimmers in Heat 2 of the men’s 200m individual medley SM7 with a clocking of 2:56.39.
Meanwhile, Angel Otom will begin her campaign in para swimming in Heat 1 of the women’s 50m backstroke on Tuesday.
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