‘Bunbury Bullet’ Alex Saffy closes out Paralympic Games by just missing individual medley final

Alex Saffy closed out his debut Paralympic Games on Saturday by just missing out on a spot in the SM10 200m individual medley final. The ‘Bunbury Bullet’ finished fourth in the first heat of the event in a time of 2min20.22 sec, looking in good shape to progress through to the final later on Saturday evening. But five swimmers in the second heat surpassed his time, leaving him outside the finals places as the ninth-fastest swimmer, just over half a second behind the eighth-ranked qualifier. Saffy’s first Paralympic Games are now over, winning a bronze medal in the S10 100m butterfly to go with a seventh-placed finish in the final of the S10 100m freestyle and his individual medley result. The 18-year-old — who had already won medals at the Commonwealth Games and world championships — further stamped his credentials on the world stage, with four-time Olympic gold medallist Cate Campbell christening him “the future” after his hugely impressive butterfly win. His compatriot and friend Col Pearse, who he held off to claim his bronze medal , won the first heat and claimed a silver medal, won silver in the individual medley final. Australia sat ninth on the Paralympic medal tally after day 10 of the Games with 18 gold medals and 62 total medals.