‘Bunbury Bullet’ Alex Saffy wins Paralympic Games bronze medal in S10 men’s 100m butterfly final

The “Bunbury Bullet” will be bringing a Paralympic Games bronze medal from Paris back to the South West, with Alex Saffy finishing third in the S10 100m butterfly final overnight Tuesday. After sailing through his heat with a second-placed finish in a time of 58.13sec., the 18-year-old came into the final among the favourites, starting from lane three. He hit the wall in third behind eventual gold medallist Stefano Raimondi of Italy and Ihor Nimchenko of Ukraine and held off compatriot Col Pearse in a strong finish to claim the podium’s final place in a time of 56.61, marking both a personal best and a new Oceanic record. Paralympic glory has been a long time coming for Saffy, who missed out on a spot on the team for the Tokyo Games three years ago due to delays on the confirmation of his international classification. Speaking immediately after the race, an emotional Saffy reflected on the sacrifices he had made to win his first Paralympic medal. “I’ve taken so long to get here,” he told Channel Nine. “I left my hometown in WA, two hours south of Perth, moved over to Canberra, I didn’t know anyone, I’d just turned 16, left my family and barely get to see them. “I’m just glad my family’s here because I love them a lot.” Saffy saved a shout-out for his home town when speaking with reporters after the medal ceremony. “I love Bunbury,” he said. “I grew up there and made so many good memories there.” On commentary for the race, four-time Olympic gold medallist Cate Campbell was full of praise for Saffy’s “sensational swim”. “This is the future — Alex Saffy,” she said. “It is so tough to put together your best swim in a final, when the pressure is on, when the lights are turned up, when the adrenaline is pumping.” Saffy has one more event left on his program, the SM10 200m individual medley which will take place on Saturday. His heat is scheduled to start at 3.30pm WA time, with the final slated to get under way at 11.30pm.