Swimmer Sophie Pascoe has signed off her Tokyo Paralympics campaign with a fifth place in the 100 metre butterfly final.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Pascoe qualified third fastest for the S9 final of the event that she is the world record holder in.
The Christchurch-based swimmer led through the first 50 metres of her final event but could not hold on to get on the medal podium for a fifth time at these Games.
Pascoe was 2.76 seconds off Zsofia Konkoly of Hungary’s winning time of 1:06.55, which set a Paralympic record.
Elizabeth Smith from the United States took the silver medal and Spain’s Sarai Gascon claimed the bronze medal.
An emotional Pascoe described the result as “gut-wrenching”.
“All I can say is I left it all out there,” Pascoe told TVNZ.
“You could probably tell I wasn’t moving much [over the last 25m] and that’s where I need to work on my kick and my stroke-rate and I just didn’t have it.”
Pascoe’s build-up to to the delayed Games has had ups and downs.
“It’s been a journey and a half and I wish nobody to ever go through the journey that I did last year, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
Pascoe said her feats at her fourth Paralympics would sink in when she is in MIQ.
The 28-year-old Pascoe has had a busy week in the pool at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre with back-to-back race days.
She qualified for the final in every event she entered in Japan and leaves with four medals – two gold, a silver and a bronze.
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