By MARK REY MONTEJO
Para swimmer Angel Otom turned heads in her Paralympic debut after barging into the final round of the women’s 50m backstroke-S5 Heats event at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games Tuesday, Sept. 3, at Paris La Defense Arena.
Otom, 21, hit the clock in 44.03 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 1 and seventh overall to secure a spot in the 8-player finals.
Her qualification revived the country’s faltering medal bid.
Chinese bets Shenggao He (41.31) and Yu Liu (42.59) placed first and second, respectively, while Turkey’s Sumeyye Boyaci (43.84) took third.
Other qualifiers were Dong Lu (49.48), Ukraine’s Iryna Poida (43.81), Great Britain’s Tully Kearney (43.89) and Turkish Sevilay Ozturk (45.34).
Medal race is set Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the same venue.
