LI's Anastasia Pagonis takes fourth in Paralympics 400-meter freestyle final

Long Island's Anastasia Pagonis finished fourth in the S11 400-meter freestyle during Friday’s swimming competition at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

Pagonis, swimming out of lane four, finished in 5 minutes, 5.31 seconds.

Liesette Bruinsma of the Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 5:00.42, setting a European record. Xiaotong Zhang of China won the silver in 5:03.45, setting an Asian record, and Daria Lukianenko (Neutral Paralympic Athletes) claimed the bronze in 5:04.37.

Earlier on Friday, the Nassau County-raised Pagonis had the fastest time (5:04.60) in the two qualifying heats. Bruinsma finished third in qualifying with a time of 5:06.82.

Pagonis was not able to defend the gold medal she won in the 400 freestyle at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021. She set the world and Paralympic records in that race, finishing in 4:54.49.

She competes in the S11 category, which is the designation for totally blind swimmers who swim with blackened goggles and require tappers on both ends of the pool.

Pagonis also won a bronze medal in the 200 individual medley at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. That event, however, is not part of her schedule in Paris. She will compete in the S11 50 freestyle on Saturday, with the final scheduled for 2:41 p.m. ET, and she will swim in the S11 100 freestyle on Sept. 7.