U.S. finishing strong at 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands –The last day of competition in the pool took place Friday at the 2010 IPC World Championships and Team USA concluded an outstanding week at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swim Center with 10 medal performances.

Kelley Becherer (Sheboygan, Wis.) led the U.S. women on day six, winning gold medals in both the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle (S13).  Becherer collected a total of six medals (4 gold, 2 bronze) during the week’s competition.

Also topping the podium on Friday were Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.) and Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minn.).  Long won gold in the 100m freestyle (S8) and Weggemann took gold in the 50m butterfly (S7).  Weggemann’s swim of :34.85 set a new American record.

Both Long and Weggemann delivered standout performances throughout the week, each totaling eight medals in eight events.  Long is bringing home six gold and two silver medals, as well as one new world record, while Weggemann hauled in one silver and seven gold medals, along with setting five world records.

Rounding out the individual medals for the women were Erin Popovich (Fort Collins, Colo.) who won silver in the 50m butterfly (S7) and Susan Beth Scott (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) who won bronze in the 100m backstroke (S10).

The Team USA women also won gold in the 4x100m medley relay (34 points).  Swimming to an American record time of 5:00.68 were Long, Weggemann, Scott and Ashley Owens (Stockbridge, Ga.).

On the men’s side, Tucker Dupree (Raleigh, N.C.) capped an already successful week with two more medals and two new American records.  Dupree won silver in the 100m freestyle (S12) in a time of :54.43 and took bronze in the 100m backstroke (S12) in 1:02.09.  Dupree finishes the meet with a total of one silver and four bronze medals.

Roy Perkins’ (Del Mar, Calif.) silver in the 100m freestyle (S5) was his fourth medal of the competition and he’ll return home with one bronze and three silver medals.

The championships wrap up on Saturday with the open water 5k race.

For complete results from the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, visit www.wcswimming2010.com.

Medal Standings at conclusion of day six of competition:

Tags: 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, Ashley Owens, Erin Popovich, Jessica Long, Kelley Becherer, Mallory Weggemann, Roy Perkins, Susan Beth Scott, Swimming, Tucker Dupree