At 8.30 p.m. sharp, the medal ceremony for the three winners of the 100-meter breaststroke final took place in the Paris swimming arena. In the middle stood the German para-swimmer Elena Semechin. As she accepted her gold medal, tears glistened in the eyes of the Berliner. All the pressure and doubts seemed to fall away from her in that moment – the 30-year-old slowly realized what she had achieved at this year’s Paralympics had just finished and bowed to the audience.
She had already swum a new Paralympic record in the preliminary round on Thursday morning with a time of 1:13.19 minutes. The visually impaired swimmer had a very clear goal for the final in the evening: she wanted to swim a new personal best. In her case, that meant a new world record.
Maybe today has shown other people that you should never give up and believe in your wishes and dreams, no matter what happens.
Elena Semechin
And she actually managed it: Elena Semechin swam faster than ever before in 1:12.54 minutes and defended her Paralympics title. The fans who had traveled with her didn’t have to wait long – Semechin dominated the field from the start and finished three seconds ahead. “I’m just unbelievably happy,” she said after the race. In the water, she hadn’t even realized that she had actually swum a world record. She only found out about it in an interview with “ZDF” – and immediately burst into tears.
After her victory in Tokyo three years ago, the swimmer had to fight her way back to the top of the world – and back into her own life. Just six weeks after the biggest success of her career to date, Semechin was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A complicated operation was followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The entire procedure took just over a year.
“The last three years have been a tough time”
In March 2023, she had officially beaten cancer – although it cannot be ruled out that the disease will return. Semechin never completely stopped swimming training and even took part in the 2022 World Championships during her treatment. With her improved world record, she is now back at the top.
“The last three years have been tough. I’m just speechless right now,” she said after the race. Despite her success, the most important thing for her is that she has shown herself, her body and her mind that you can get out of situations like this. “Maybe today has shown other people that you should never give up and believe in your wishes and dreams,” said Elena Semechin on Thursday evening: “No matter what happens.”
Taliso Engel had already set a new world record in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke that morning. The 22-year-old reached the edge of the pool in 1:01.84 minutes, almost four seconds ahead of the 15 other swimmers in the SB13 class. “Let’s see if I can do better in the final. I want to have fun again this evening and then it will work out,” said Engel calmly after his heat.
When Taliso Engel later entered the La Défense Arena, he slapped his right hand, then his left. Highly concentrated and wearing headphones, he stood behind the starting block of the fourth lane. He shook out his arms and legs one last time before “Take your marks” rang out and the eight best para-swimmers in the 100-meter breaststroke took their starting positions. The starting signal echoed through the arena and the final began.
Just like in the preliminary round, Engel dominated the field. Although he was unable to improve on his world record from the preliminary round, he secured the gold medal with a time of six hundredths over his best time. “I was actually just looking forward to this evening the whole time. After my first two starts, I now feel incredibly liberated and am happy that everything is done.”
© dpa/Jens Büttner
The past three years since the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics have not been easy for Engel either. When Engel had to leave the training camp in Belek in 2022 with a severe middle ear infection, the doctors treating him were not sure how severe the illness would be. Engel could no longer hear in his right ear after an additional rupture of the eardrum. A cochlear implant was to be inserted to restore the Nuremberg native’s hearing.
The necessary operation was not scheduled until after the 2024 Games in order to allow for training and preparation for Paris. After many different assessments by doctors, progressive and irreversible ossification of the cochlea was diagnosed in October 2023. There was a risk that this could make it impossible to insert the implant. The operation had to be carried out as quickly as possible.
The para-swimmer had to endure repeated interruptions in training on his way to his second title at the Paralympic Games. But on Thursday evening there was no sign of this: Engel gave his competitors no chance in the final of the 100-meter breaststroke.
For Taliso Engel and Elena Semechin, the 2024 Paralympic Games are coming to a great end. Overjoyed and beyond satisfied, the two waved to the audience at the La Défense Arena one last time. Around their necks was the new gold medal from Paris.
