PETALING JAYA: National para swimmer Mohd Nur Syaiful Zulkafli (pic) made the most of his last event at the Paris Paralympics by qualifying for the final of the men’s 50m freestyle S5 (physical disability).
Syaiful recorded a time of 34.51s to place fourth in the second heat at the Paris La Defense Arena and will compete in his third final here.
The achievement saw the Sarawak-born athlete grab the last slot for the final which lined up the eight best swimmers from the two heats of the event.
Chinese swimmer Guo Jincheng, who won the second heat, recorded 29.97s to crack the Paralympic Games record of compatriot Tao Zheng who recorded 30.31s in the last edition in Tokyo.
Syaiful appeared in two finals earlier where he finished sixth - the men’s 100m freestyle S5 (1:16.60s) and the men’s 100m breaststroke SB4 (1:46.71s).
In Tokyo, Syaiful finished fifth in the men’s 50m freestyle with a time of 32.82s, which was his personal best.
