Otom advances to women's 50m butterfly S5 final at Paralympics

MANILA – Angel Mae Otom advanced to the women's 50-meter butterfly S5 final in the Paris Paralympics after finishing third in the qualifying heat at the La Defense Arena on Friday.

Otom clocked 46.85 seconds to place fifth overall. The final race is scheduled late afternoon in Paris (12 midnight in Manila).

Chinese Lu Dong, who won the 50m backstroke two days ago, topped the heats in 40.50s followed by silver medalist He Shenggao (43.11) and Sevilay Ozturk of Turkey (44.70).

"I studied carefully what to do in this swim. I will improve even more in the final," said the 21-year-old Otom, who won the event at the Asean Para Games.

She clocked 44.00s to finish sixth in the 50meter backstroke S5 final last Wednesday.

"Angel had a better swim compared to her previous event. Coach Tony (Ong) really focused on her for this swim," para swimming deputy coach Bryan Ong remarked. (PNA)