And now for some incredibly wholesome news for the day. A former Valorant pro has won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the esports world has been rallying around him. Rowan Crothers from Australia has previously made a name for himself as a talented esports athlete but has now proved himself as an incredible swimmer too.
Crothers competed in the Paralympics Men's 50m freestyle S10 as he has Cerebral Palsy which affects movement capabilities and motor function in those who experience the disorder. The athlete won gold with a fantastic 23.21 time which is just 0.05 seconds slower than the World Record in this category. Crothers was followed by Ukraine's Maksym Krypak taking silver, and Brazil's Phelipe Melo Rodrigues taking bronze.
If you're unfamiliar with PC FPS Valorant, here's an animation from developers Riot Games...
According to Guardian Australia, Rowan actually began swimming as a way to help his Cerebral Palsy and initially didn't really enjoy it. However, he kept with the sport and is now obviously a huge success.
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Now if that wasn't cool enough, it gets a little cooler because Crother's best friend also won gold that day. Ben Popham was also in the running for a medal in the 100m Freestyle S8 final and similarly beat out his competition to come first place. There is an incredible photo of the two of them on Instagram, showing off their medals and wow, we can't imagine a better feeling for the two of them.
It's so nice seeing someone achieve their dreams, and perhaps now that Crothers has his gold, he'll be back in the Valorant scene soon? To be fair though, no matter what he does next, he should probably take a well-deserved break first. Congrats Rowan and Ben!Featured Image Credit: Rowan Crothers / Sega
