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Matthew Torres gets ready to compete in Paris.
ANSONIA – Swimmer Matthew Torres returned to his hometown Monday (Sept. 23), bringing with him the bronze medal he won in the 2024 Paralympic Summer Games in Paris.
Torres, 23, scored the bronze in the mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay when he competed in the games earlier this month alongside his Team USA teammates Noah Jaffe, Natalie Sims and Christine Raleigh Crossley. The team took third place, behind Italy and Australia.
This is the second Olympic bronze medal for Torres. He won his first bronze medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in the men’s 400-meter freestyle race.
The 2024 Paralympic Summer Games took place over 12 days from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in the City of Light. More than 4,400 athletes from around the globe competed in various events, including wheelchair basketball, women’s sitting volleyball and swimming, according to a press release from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Team USA finished third overall in the medal standings, earning a total of 105 medals – 36 gold, 42 silver and 27 bronze.
Torres said the medal was the highlight of the Games for him. He had also competed in the men’s 400-meter, 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, but didn’t win a medal in those events.
Just when he thought his dreams of medaling were over, though, he was asked to be the starting swimmer in the team relay. On the evening of Sept. 7 – the second-to-last day of competition – Torres and his teammates took to the same pool where Katie Ledecky had just scored two Olympic golds in August.
Torres said once he hit the water, he was laser-focused on doing his best.
“Going into the race, I just wanted to give my maximum effort for the U.S.,” Torres told The Valley Indy in an interview Tuesday (Sept. 24). “As the race started going on, it seemed like I gave our team a solid start and then I just started going crazy.”
The competition was fierce. The Italian gold medalists set a world record in the event, with Australia finishing just tenths of a second behind. Torres and his teammates finished with a time of 4 minutes and 4.7 seconds, beating out five other teams to claim the bronze medal.
Torres said he had been disappointed in his earlier performances at the Games, but that the medal made it all worth it.
“Considering my individual races weren’t all that great, and I didn’t do as well as I hoped and expected, and having gone through the emotions thinking my games were over, I was given an opportunity to do it one more time (with the team relay),” Torres said. “And then we sealed the deal with a bronze. I was so happy and overwhelmed.”
Torres said participating in Paris was a lot different than Tokyo because in Paris there were in-person crowds at the events. Tokyo happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when spectators were not allowed.
“There were no fans in Tokyo, and to see and hear 14,000 people cheering and screaming in the stands (in Paris) was awesome,” Torres said. “It was very motivating and energizing hearing everyone scream and cheer for us.”
Accepting his bronze medal alongside his Team USA teammates on the podium was the icing on the cake for Torres.
“I took a moment to look around and absorb everything,” he said. “Hearing the crowd cheer was definitely something I will never forget.”
After The Games
When the games ended in Paris, the competition didn’t end for Torres. He traveled to Sardinia, Italy, and participated in the Open Water Cup on Sept. 21, where he was the only male from U.S. Para Swimming to take part. Torres took first place in his division in the 3‑kilometer race.
Torres’ parents, Gil and Martha Torres, traveled to Paris to watch their son achieve his dreams, and both said they couldn’t be more proud of him.
“This has been nothing short of a miracle,” Gil Torres told The Valley Indy via a text. “To win the bronze medal at the last swimming event at the Paralympics is just amazing. But then, add to that, he goes to Italy, and on his first attempt, wins gold at the 3K Para Swimming Open Water Cup. Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).”
As for the next Paralympic Games scheduled for 2028 in Los Angeles, Torres said he’s going to take some time out of the pool before making any decisions about the future.
“It’s been a rough year and a half,” Torres said, referring to an illness that sidelined him last year just three days before competing in a world championship in England. “I’m going to take a step back and evaluate and take a needed break from swimming for a while.”
Let The Celebrations Begin
Torres with his bosses at Century 21, Ken and Sherry Scala, who celebrated the swimmer at a reception on Sept. 24.
Torres, in his everyday life, works as a real estate agent for Century 21. His co-workers on Tuesday (Sept. 24) threw him a welcome back celebration fit for an Olympian.
Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti is also planning to honor the hometown hero during the city’s annual Harvest Festival on Saturday (Sept. 28) downtown.
“I want to bring Matt to the podium and honor him so he can show off his medal,” Cassetti said. “This is his second bronze, and I am very proud of him and what he accomplished over the last few years. Matt is a tremendous individual. He has shown that anything is possible.”
Torres was born with amniotic band syndrome, missing half his right leg, with deformities on both hands and some hearing loss. The 2023 Fairfield University graduate has never allowed his handicap to get in the way of his goals.
In addition to holding two bronze medals, Torres is a world record holder in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2021 U.S. Paralympics National Championships, earned several gold and bronze medals from various world and national swimming competitions and was named America’s most decorated swimmer in the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
