Cancelled Paralympics 50m swimming final rescheduled for Sunday

The 50m freestyle swimming final at the Tokio Paralympics will be held on Sunday after Friday’s race, in which Cypriot Karolina Pelendritou won bronze, was cancelled due to an appeal by the Dutch team.

According to the head of the Cypriot team, the race will take place at 1.18pm Cyprus time.

Pelendritou had finished third behind Chinese swimmers Ma Jia, who set a new world record with 29.46 seconds, and Li Guizhi, who closed at 29.66 seconds.

Pelendritou’s time in the final was recorded at 29.80, an improvement to her time in the semi-final of 29.92 seconds, which at the time set a new world record.

Before Tokyo, the Cypriot swimmer won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in 2008, while at the London Olympics in 2012 she won silver.

Though the reasons for the appeal are not made public, Dutch media reported swimmer Liesette Bruinsma, who finished fourth, said she had been obstructed during the race by Chinese swimmer, Guizhi, who finished second.

Guizhi’s arm had crossed over the intermediate line three times forcing Bruinsma to change direction, the reports said.