Mary Jibb continued to shine at the Para swimming world championships on Tuesday. The Canadian swimmer broke Stephanie Dixon’s national record for the second day in a row, this time in the women’s 100-meter butterfly S9 final. Jibb, aged 18, finished fifth with a time of 1 minute 10.29 seconds at the OCBC Aquatic Centre in Singapore. Xu Jialing of China secured the world gold medal in 1:08.24, narrowly ahead of Zsofia Konkoly (1:08.49) of the Netherlands and Emily Beecroft (1:08.65) of Australia taking bronze.
Stephanie Dixon set the previous national record of 1:11.04 at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing when Jibb was just one year old. Jibb expressed her satisfaction with her race performance, aiming for a time of 1:10 or even 1:09. She had achieved a personal best of 1:11.44 in the morning preliminaries. Jibb was pleased with her improvement in the evening race, emphasizing her strong finish.
Born and raised in Bracebridge, Ontario, Jibb made a notable comeback in Tuesday’s final, moving from seventh to fifth place in the women’s 100m butterfly S9 race. She overcame challenges faced earlier in her life, having suffered a stroke at age five that affected her right side. Swimming started as a form of physiotherapy for her and eventually evolved into competitive training.
On Monday, Jibb clinched Canada’s first gold medal at the championships by setting a new record of 2:32.90 in the women’s 200 individual medley SM9 final. Other Canadian athletes also showcased their talent on Tuesday, with Nick Bennett, Alec Elliott, Jordan Tucker, Sebastian Massabie, and Reid Maxwell competing in various events. The ongoing success of Canadian swimmers at the Para swimming world championships demonstrates their dedication and skill in the sport.
