Paralympic swimmer Takayuki Suzuki was, to use an apt turn of phrase, thrown into the deep end in his first race at the Paris Games.
The men’s 50-meter breaststroke race in the SB3 class was a straight final. So there were no earlier races to help Suzuki warm up or get acclimated to competing in the pool at Paris La Defense Arena. It was winner-take-all from the start and, despite being in his sixth Paralympics, Suzuki felt a little nervous.
“I had to do my best performance in the final,” Suzuki told The Japan Times. “Only in the final. So that's why I was a bit nervous.”
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