体坛英语新闻：First Paralympic swimming competition kicks off in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The first Paralympic swimming competition "Sarajevo Open 2019-We are All Equal in Water" was officially opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Saturday afternoon.

The twp-day competition featured 90 swimmers from Austria, BiH, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, who will compete in the 50-meter pool.

Amel Kapo, founder of the swimming club Spid that organized the event, told Xinhua that they aim to push the boundaries and prove that nothing is impossible.

"This is an extremely important swimming event for us and the country. We are fighting for medals, but we are also sending a clear message for the continuation of the development of paralympic swimming in BiH," Kapo said, adding that they hope this competition will become a tradition.

Kapo said those swimmers will compete in accordance to the rules of International Paralympic Association and in classes from S1 to S14, where athletes are grouped by the degree of activity limitation resulting from an impairment.

On the expectations for the event, Kapo said they expect it to be technically all right.

"We expect from swimmers to do their best and to show that we in BiH can do great things for people with disabilities," Kapo explained.

He said that several swimmers among the entries in Sarajevo, have already competed in the Paralympic Games.

"A total of twenty swimmers will compete from BiH," Kapo said.