Paris 2024: Ruby Storm helps steal silver pool, competition continues for Indigenous athletes

Jarred Cross Published September 2, 2024 at 4.00pm (AWST)

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Ruby Storm, pictured ahead of the women's 200m freestyle heats, fought back in the third leg of Monday's 4x100m freestyle relay S14 to put Australia in position to claim back-to-back silvers. (Image: Sport the Library)

Paralympians Ruby Storm and Amanda Reid have collected medals in the opening days of competition in Paris ahead of a packed schedule featuring First Nations athletes this week.

On Monday morning, Storm added to Australia's medal tally in the pool with silver in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay S14 alongside teammates Jack Ireland, Madeleine McTernan and Ben Hance after a strong third leg, defending her second-place medal in the event at Tokyo.

The 20-year-old, who had finished seventh in the 200m individual freestyle final on Sunday, cut back at a huge advantage held by Honk Kong in third to put anchor Hance in position to surge into second with 10 metres remaining.

Australia finished 3.32 seconds behind Great Britain, who had led for the entire race.

Storm, the Traralgon talent and Wiradjuri swimmer, will start from lane two in heat one of the individual 100m breaststroke SB14 on Monday night.

She was unable to reproduce medal efforts from Tokyo in the 100m butterfly earlier in the week finishing fifth in her heat.

Earlier, former swimmer-turned-cyclist Amanda Reid defended her gold in the C1-3 500m time trial.

Speaking after the win on Sunday, the Guringai and Wemba Wemba told Nine's Paris coverage it was an "unreal feeling" after a challenging 12 months.

Reid posted a time of 38.811 seconds, factored to 36.676 - almost a second ahead of China's Qian Wangwei in second.

*Amanda Reid claimed gold in the C1-3 500m time trial over the weekend. (Image: Sport the Library)*

"To go back-to-back is just absolutely amazing," she said.

"I try not to think about the race too much and just go for it when I ride. It's two laps - just go as fast as I can."

One of four Indigenous Parathletes in Paris - alongside Storm, track star Telaya Blacksmith and Samantha Schmidt in discus, Reid said "it means everything" to be a part of that group, representing her country and people back at home.

Reid returns in the C4 individual time trial and road race on Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

Telaya Blacksmith makes her Paralympic debut, and will become Australia's 16th Indigenous Paralympic athlete when she runs in lane eight at heat two in the T20 400m sprint at Stade de France from 4am Tuesday morning, before competing in long jump from Saturday.

Samantha Schmidt returns for her second games after a sixth place finish in Tokyo in the F38 discus throw.