Sault Ste. Marie's Jessica Tuomela made it to the finals of the women's 100-metre freestyle event early today at the Beijing Paralympics, but found herself swimming in the wake of a world-record performance by China's Qing Xie.
Tuomela finished fourth in her heat, 4.53 seconds behind Xie's record-setting time of 1:10.36.
Xie broke her world record again in the final, this time blistering the pool water in 1:08.96.
Tuomela was eighth in the final, with a time of 1:14.79.
Finishing half a second ahead of her in the final was fellow Canadian Amber Thomas.
Tuomela scored a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
She also competed in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, placing fourth in the 50-meter freestyle and sixth in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke.
Tuomela will compete in the Beijing Paralympics again on Sunday, this time in the 50-metre freestyle event.
Canada's medal count in Beijing currently stands at 19: seven gold, four silver and eight bronze.
More local news
Browse local flyers
Weather forecast
Find local deals
View local webcams
Verified Commenter, please