Bamawm’s Col Pearse has struck early in the first of his three events at the 2022 World Paraswimming Championships in Madeira, claiming a silver medal in the men’s 200m individual medley.
Pearse qualified third fastest in his heat on Tuesday morning before setting a new personal best in the discipline, swimming 2.13.76 to hit the wall in second.
The 18-year-old’s time in the final was a full four seconds quicker than his time of 2.17.91 in the heats, a remarkable performance in a thrilling finish.
Pearse finished just one second behind Paralympics gold medallist Stefano Raimondi of Italy, and just .12 of a second ahead of the Netherlands Bas Takken in a strong finish for the young Australian Dolphin.
A silver medal reflects his improvement in the 200m individual medley following a close fourth-place finish in the discipline at Tokyo.
The result, Pearse’s best finish at international level, adds another medal to an ever-growing cabinet.
On the international stage, Pearse now has a bronze in the 100m butterfly from the 2019 World Championships, a bronze in the same swim at the Tokyo Paralympics, and now a silver medal.
Pearse’s silver adds to a total of six for Australia to go with three golds and four bronze as the Green and Gold sit fifth on the medal tally after two days of competition.
Italy tops the rankings with 21 medals.
But for the rising Australian swimming talent, his best may still be yet to come in Madeira.
Pearse will aim to back up his Paralympic glory when he takes to the pool for his pet event, the men’s 100m butterfly tomorrow (Thursday, June 16) with heats commencing at 9:35 Eastern Standard Time.
The men’s 100m backstroke on Saturday, June 18 will conclude Pearse’s time at the World Championships before he turns his attention to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
A full schedule of remaining events is available via the Madeira 2022 World Paraswimming Championships website, and Channel 7 is conducting livestreams and highlight packages of the tournament.
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