Otom off to Paralympic backstroke finals

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina para swimmer Angel Otom advanced to the finals of the women’s 50-meter backstroke in the Paris Paralympics after cracking the eight fastest swimmers in the S5 heats Tuesday afternoon (Manila time).

The 21-year-old Otom clocked in at 44.03 seconds, good for seventh overall after the heats.

The trio of Chinese para swimmers Lu Dong, He Shenggao and Liu Yu topped the heats with times of 39.48 seconds, 41.31 seconds and 42.59 seconds, respectively.

Ukraine’s Iryna Poida came in fourth with 43.81 seconds, followed by Turkiye’s Sumeyye Boyaci with 43.84 seconds.

Great Britain’s Tully Kearney (43.89 seconds) and Turkiye’s Sevilay Ozturk (45.34 seconds) complete the finals cast.

Otom could finally nail the Philippines’ first medal in the Paris competition on Wednesday at 12:33 a.m. (Manila time).