Swimmers showing up and showing out

Nikita Howarth, one of the Kiwi success stories in Rio five years ago, easily qualified for the women's 100m SB7 breaststroke final.

Swimming in lane five, Howarth finished third in the second heat in 1m 36.05s, before being elevated to second after race winner Canada’s Abi Tripp was disqualified.

Russian Mariia Pavlova stamped herself as the favourite for last night’s final with the most impressive performance in the heats, although a four or five-way battle for the medals seemed possible.

Hamilton's Howarth became New Zealand's youngest Paralympian in London nine years ago, when aged 13, and won gold and silver in medley and butterfly events at Rio.

She had a highly promising crack at cycling before returning to the water for these Games.

Howarth’s effort was soon followed by Sophie Pascoe confirming her overwhelming favouritism in the 200m SM9 individual medley with a brilliant heat win.

The medley supremo was expected to win gold in a canter in last night’s final with the world record holder's time about 10s better than the next best at Tokyo.

Having already won her 10th Paralympics gold after some initial struggles, Pascoe appears to have hit her best form.

Pascoe wowed the commentators with what they called a near-perfect heat swim. She eased up but still had the fastest time, ahead of Zsofia Konkoly of Hungary.

Jesse Reynolds qualified seventh fastest for the men's 200m individual medley final overnight, with two swimmers disqualified in the heats. It would be a surprise if Reynolds was in the medal hunt, going on the heat times.

Finally, gold medallist Tupou Neiufi qualified fourth fastest for the 50m freestyle S8 final. The medal race is wide open with British star Alice Tai pulling out of the Games due to injury.

Neiufi was second in her heat with a time nearly a second slower than Brazil's Xenia Palazzo.