We had a rollicking conversation about the Paralympics on COSI Talks last night. If you missed the show, you can watch it here. Here’s what’s happening over in Tokyo today.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: SWIMMING
ICYMI, yesterday we teed up 10 don’t-miss Paralympic track and field events so you can mark them down on your calendars. Today we give the same treatment to the swimming events. As with the T&F post, the times listed here correspond to when you can stream the event live on the NBC Olympics channel in the US Eastern time zone. Unfortunately, most of the swimming events we’re most excited about will be staged in the wee hours for American viewers, due to the ~15-hour difference between Japanese and US time zones.
Fortunately, the streams are available to watch ex post facto. If a particular event happens at 3 a.m. in your area, you can get a good night’s sleep, wake up at 7 a.m., log in to the app, and stream the race at your convenience. Or you can catch it during the TV/cable rebroadcast later in the day, if that’s your jam (broadcast schedule is here).
Apologies for the lengthy disclaimer. On to the list:
Men’s 200m medley SM7: August 27, 550 am. Could be the last hurrah for Rudy Garcia-Tolson, who won silver in this event at Rio.
Women’s 200m medley SM7: August 27, 6 am. Julia Gaffney, a contender for multiple medals, truly shines in the IM.
Women’s 200m medley SB6: August 28, 4 am. Elizabeth Marks looks to add to her medal haul in her strongest event.
Women’s 100m backstroke S9: August 30, 420 am. Hannah Aspden holds the world’s #1 ranking in this event.
Men’s 400m freestyle S8: August 31, 4 am. Matthew Torres holds the world’s top ranking in this long-distance swim.
Women’s 400m freestyle S8: August 31, 420 am. Big-time duel between Jessica Long and Morgan Stickney.
Women’s 100m butterfly S10: August 31, 6 am. Best medal opportunity for teen phenom Mikaela Jenkins.
Women’s 100m butterfly S9: September 2, 420 am. Lizzi Smith won bronze in this event at Rio and is currently ranked #2 in the world.
Women’s 100m butterfly S8: September 3, 430 am. Long holds world #1 rankings in multiple events, including this one.
JORGE SANCHEZ TAKES YOU INSIDE THE DRIP HOUSE
Paralympic sponsor Samsung launched its Vlogger series the other day with an entry from US wheelchair basketballer Jorge Sanchez. It’s a quick, entertaining glimpse at life in the Olympic Village. Want to know why Sanchez and his teammates are calling their suite the Drip House? Tune in to find out.
Ezra Frech and Jessica Long are also vlogging for Samsung. We’ll let you know as soon as their posts are live.
TODAY’S COMPETITION: WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
You can see archery phenom Emma Rose Ravish make her Paralympic debut tonight (tomorrow morning in Tokyo) at 8pm Eastern time in the women’s individual recurve open ranking round. If you’re in the western half of North America (or you’re a night owl on the East Coast), you can watch Matt Stutzman out on the archery range as well. His event starts at 10pm Pacific time, 1am Eastern.
Medal hopefuls Rudy Garcia-Tolson and Julia Gaffney will both be swimming qualifiers this evening for the 200m individual medley (classification S7). Blake Haxton, the only amputee member of Team USA’s watercraft contingent, will be rowing a qualifying heat at 930pm Eastern in the single sculls.
Finally, upper-arm amputee Joe (The Beard) Berenyi goes for a medal on the cycling track at 12:20am Eastern time. That’s a more comfortable 10:20pm for us in the Mountain time zone. We’ll be tuned in.