Two II2 Virtus World records broken at GG2023
II2 World Records in Swimming
The inclusion of the II2 competition class as a full medal event at the Global Games 2023 was a significant milestone for Virtus sports. In just its second edition, the II2 athletes are already leaving their mark by shattering records and pushing the boundaries of human potential, showcasing their incredible skill and determination on the global stage.

Kobayashi Michiko (JPN)
Kobayashi Michiko from Japan broke the Virtus World record twice in a row today in the female II2 100m breaststroke event. She swam a time of 1:42.69 in the heats this morning to set the first record and later broke her own record in the finals clocking an impressive time of 1:39.86 seconds.
Vincente Pereira from Portugal has etched his name in the annals of swimming history by setting a remarkable Virtus World record in the 50m butterfly II2 event.
Rowing
The morning saw rowers compete in their respective heats in order to qualify for the afternoon finals, from 2:30pm onwards. There were ten finals across the afternoon and, as expected, the favourites came out on top – for the most part.
For the afternoon began, surprisingly, with hosts France losing out in the II2 Men’s Scull, where Italy’s Andrea Appendino forced his way past both French rowers to take the gold. Although, France fought back in subsequent encounters with the Italians, taking gold in the II1 Men’s Double Sculls and Silver in the ii1 Mixed Double Sculls, ahead of Italy in third.
However, the real stars of that II1 Mixed Double Sculls, and indeed the remainder of the afternoon races, were the formidable Australians MacIntyre Russel and Bronte Marshall. With a lot of talk about their previous successes at past Global Games in the lead up to this week, many expected them to be prominent figures throughout the week, and on the first day they did not disappoint.
They paired together to storm the II1 Mixed Double, 12.2 seconds ahead of the French competition, before each went on to excel in their individual races. Marshall took home silver in the II1 Women’s Single Sculls, and Russel the gold in the II1 Men’s Single, to assert some early dominance in what is an action-packed week ahead of us at La Tour des Juges.