Piper Sadowski, Koehn Boyd Lead Opening Day at 2026 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships

BOISE, Idaho – Highlighting the opening day of the 2026 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships, Piper Sadowski (Grand Rapids, Michigan; S14) broke her personal American report twice Friday as a number of swimmers turned in sturdy performances at Idaho Central Aquatic Center in Boise, Idaho.

The 20-year-old, who trains on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, opened the day by setting an American report within the girls’s S14 400-meter freestyle throughout prelims with a time of 4:59.94. She adopted that efficiency in finals with one other American report, profitable the occasion in 4:58.68 and turning into the primary American girl within the classification to interrupt the five-minute barrier.

Koehn Boyd (Ramsey, Minnesota; S10) walked away with three victories on opening day. The two-time Swimmer of the Meet completed simply three seconds shy of his American report within the males’s 400 freestyle multiclass occasion, posting a time of 4:08.77 after dropping almost six seconds from his prelims swim earlier within the day.

Boyd added one other victory within the males’s 100 butterfly, touching the wall in 57.72, lower than one second off his personal American report of 56.96. Two-time Paralympian Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland; S14) adopted carefully behind with a time of 58.35, simply two seconds shy of the S14 American report.

Boyd’s third win got here within the males’s 400 particular person medley multiclass occasion, which was contested as a timed last.

Paralympic silver medalist Grace Nuhfer (Indianapolis, Indiana; S13) additionally opened the meet with a victory, profitable the ladies’s 100-meter butterfly in 1:08.31.

The nationwide championships resume Saturday with preliminary heats starting at 9 a.m. MT and finals at 5:30 p.m. MT. All occasions are contested in multiclass format, with outcomes decided utilizing the World Para Swimming factors system to create an equitable discipline of play throughout classifications. The 50 freestyle race can be a can’t-miss occasion, with Noah Jaffe, Evan Wilkerson and Koehn Boyd all going head-to-head.

For complete results from day one, visit USParaSwimming.org.  

For interview and picture requests, please contact Ike.Hartman@usopc.org.