Emotional scenes as brave Aussie Paralympian Ben Hance pays tribute to his late father after snaring gold in S14 men’s 100m backstroke

Emotions ran high as Australian Paralympic athlete Benjamin Hance hit the wall in Paris on Saturday morning to win gold in the backstroke.

Seconds later, the 24-year-old balanced on a rope, kissed his left hand and pointed toward the sky.

“I love you, Dad,” said the swimming champion.

It didn’t look like Hance was going to lose the S14 men’s 100m backstroke final. He won by almost a body length.

In doing so, he became the first man to win two consecutive gold medals at the Paralympic Games in the event held in 2014. La Defense Arena.

After winning gold, Hance admitted he had had “the worst year of his life.”

“I’m glad this season is over,” said the Queensland swimmer.

‘My father is dying, that’s for sure… and there are other things that happened to me that I won’t mention on camera that could have ruined my life too.

Ben Hance’s individual gold medal follows a silver medal as a member of the Australian mixed 4x100m freestyle S14 relay team

“I just wanted to thank my dad for everything he’s done. He always loved my backstroke and I’m glad I gave him a gold medal.”

Anthony Charles Hance, known simply as Tony to family and friends, died earlier this year at the age of 55.

Just three months later, his son, who has an intellectual disability, secured a place in Paris at the Australian Swimming Competitions in Brisbane.

Hance was also inspired after receiving a pre-race message from Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers.

The duo train together at St Andrew’s Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast.

Meanwhile, Australia won seven medals on day nine, with 17-year-old Callum Simpson also taking gold.

In a thrilling final phase, Simpson defeated American Noah Jaffe by 0.02 seconds in the final of the men’s 100-meter freestyle in the S8 class.

“It’s everything I ever dreamed of and to finally have my dream come true is amazing. It really is,” he said.