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This is the first award in our national team with a total of 11 members.
European champion E. Matakas was a bit late at the start of the final and chased after the Chinese athletes. Everything was determined by the last meters of distance, but the success did not separate from the Paralympic in Lithuania
Lithuania’s rivals were two Brazilians, two Chinese, a Pole, a Ukrainian and a Portuguese.
The champion was the Brazilian Belarmino Pereira, who sailed the distance in 26.03 seconds, silver went to the D.Hua cinema – 26.18 seconds.
A total of 15 athletes competed in the 50-meter freestyle selection.
“The hardest part is being a favorite when you have to live up to expectations. I really expected to swim faster, and when I said the result… the most unfortunate thing was. I think it is appreciated, because it is not every day that you win a Paralympic medal. We were swimming it all a long time ago, so it’s fun to win.
Maybe there was no emotion. I felt relatively calm. It’s difficult to capture that sporty form and show the same high results throughout the season.
Still, we are talking about a 50 meter sprint in which every mistake, every not-so-done fuss makes up for a lot. The coach said that nothing has been lost and is still waiting for 2024. “Paralympic Games in Paris,” said E. Matakas.
E. Matakas is the second swimmer from Lithuania to become a Paralympic winner. The only medal in this sport for our country was won by Kęstutis Skučas, who in 2004. He won silver in Athens.
E. Matakas successfully began his performance at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Competing in the S11 class for completely invisible swimmers, a Kaunas resident demonstrated his best time in the 50-meter freestyle selection competition on Friday morning and reached the final at number one.
The Ramūnas Leonas student, who started on the fourth track of the Tokyo Olympic Pool, covered the distance in 26.16 seconds. and won the second qualifying swim.
In the general classification, the Lithuanian was almost half a second faster than the Brazilian Wendell Belarmino Pereira, winner of the first swimming classification for the second time (26.47 seconds). The third in the selection was the Dongdong Hua Cinema (26.55 sec.).
E. Matakas’s coach, R. Leon, was convinced that his student would swim fast in the final.
“We did everything well, everything went well. The main objective was already having a good time with the selection. That is what I wanted him to go to number one to facilitate things psychologically. Edgar wants to leave 26 seconds, that would be the objective,” said the technical.
According to the coach, the victory in the selection competition is psychologically important and gives confidence to his student.
“Edgar is one of those people who needs it. He needs to be encouraged and told that he is fit, that he is fast. So he himself feels that he is flying fast and knows that the result will be good. Psychologically, he feels much stronger then, “revealed R. Leon.
E. Matakas beat the 50m freestyle at the European Swimming Championships for Persons with Disabilities in Portugal in May this year in 25.86 seconds, set a personal record and won gold.
The Kaunas resident collected two more gold medals in a 100-meter freestyle and a 100-meter chest.
2017 At the World Championships in Mexico, E. Matakas won gold in the 50-meter freestyle match and won the bronze award in the 100-meter freestyle match.
At the Tokyo Paralympic Games, E. Matako still awaits his performance in the 100-meter breaststroke match.
