Chinese para table tennis athletes Mao Jingdian and Zhao Shuai become the first Paralympic mixed doubles gold medallists
Sareh Javanmardi becomes three-time title winner with another 10m air pistol SH1 Paralympic title
The final medals in Para taekwondo were awarded at the Grand Palace, with Great Britain winning two gold medals
Javammardi becomes three-time title winner
Sareh Javanmardi of the Republic of Iran won her third title in the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 Paralympics on Saturday, adding a fourth gold medal to her collection of five medals in the Paralympic shooting para sport.
“I am extremely happy to win my fifth Paralympic medal. There is really nothing that can match it,” Javanmardi said.
“I want to retire now. I think I will teach my child to follow in my footsteps.” In the men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 final, Denmark’s Martin Blaak Jorgensen looked set to pull off an upset but lost his lead in the last few shots and finished third.
China wins first mixed doubles gold
The Para table tennis competition in Paris featured a new event on Saturday, with China’s Mao Jingdian and Zhao Shuai becoming the first mixed doubles Paralympic gold medallists by winning the XD17 event in three straight sets.
“When we played together, we didn’t have a lot of time to train together, so I am very grateful to my partner,” Mao said.
“We have played together for less than a year. Sometimes I get anxious or angry when I play, and he calmed me down
.” Mao and Zhao face compatriots Peng Weinan and Xiong Guiyan in the final, another strong day for China at the South Paris Arena.
Cao Ningning and Feng Panfeng won the men’s doubles MD8 gold, while Gu Xiaodan and Pan Jiamin won the women’s doubles WD10 gold.
Drama in the velodrome
“It was a thrilling conclusion to the men’s C4 4000m individual event, with Great Britain’s Archie Atkinson entering the final as the favorite.”
Atkinson, making his Paralympic debut, is the reigning world champion, and broke the world record in the qualifying round.
However, Atkinson had to settle for a silver medal after falling in the gold final, which saw Slovakia’s Jozef Metelka win his second Paralympic gold medal and show great sportsmanship.
Grinham first pregnant Paralympian on podium
Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham beat teammate Phoebe Patterson Paine to victory in the Para Archery Women’s Individual Compound Open bronze final, making her the first pregnant athlete to win a Paralympic medal.
“I’m so proud of her because she overcame all the obstacles to get here, especially with Bubba coming in,” Patterson-Pine said.
“I think she’s going to be here come October. I’m so proud and impressed with how well she’s done.” The women’s individual W1 event had a similar contest for gold as Tokyo, with China’s Chen Minyi facing Czech Sarka Pulter Musilova. Chen once again won gold.
Final Para Taekwondo medals awarded
The Paris 2024 Para Taekwondo competition ended at the Grand Palais on Saturday, with the final three gold medallists decided.
Team GB’s Amy Trousdale won her first Paralympic gold medal in the women’s K44 +65kg, facing young star Guljonoy Naimova of Uzbekistan in the gold medal contest.
Great Britain’s second gold in Para Taekwondo was won by Matt Bush, who missed Tokyo 2020 through injury.
“It’s a miracle to get here, to be honest,” Bush said. “I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) two weeks before Tokyo, I was out for two years, had two surgeries.
“As much as we all want medals, I’ve learned so much from playing the sport.
It’s made me better as a person, and it’s made me constantly better. Good things make you better, but bad things also make you better
.” Asadbek Toshtemirov of Uzbekistan won gold in the men’s K44 -80kg category, beating Mexico’s Luis Mario Najera 38-17. Basiloff takes stunning gold for Argentina There was a mix of familiar faces and new medallists reaching the podium at the Paris La Defense Arena on Saturday.
Yip Pin Xiu continued her dominance in the pool, winning her third Paralympics 50m backstroke S2 gold. “I don’t take it for granted.
We work hard day and night.I’m sure everyone aims for the same, but it’s all about gaining that edge and having a great team behind us so we can swim our fastest can.” Brazil’s Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araújo and Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago also added to their medal haul, with dos Santos Araújo winning in the men’s 50m backstroke S2 and”Gomes Santiago in the women’s 100m S12 backstroke event.”
After twice finishing fourth in Tokyo, Argentina’s Iñaki Basiloff finally made it onto the podium, winning gold in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7, the first Paralympic gold in any sport for Argentina since Rio 2016.
It was a day of many firsts for Great Britain’s swimmers, including a first Paralympic gold for Stephen Clegg, who topped the podium in the men’s 100m backstroke S12 with a world record of 59.02.
“The main priority here is to make sure we prepare ourselves in the heats to win gold in the final and not worry too much about the time,” Clegg said. “It’s a very special thing when you can win gold with the world’s fastest time
.” Upsets on the track Both the women’s and men’s reigning Paralympic champions lost in the 5000m T54 final
. Switzerland’s Kathrin Debrunner beat USA’s Susanna Scaroni in the women’s final to set a new Paralympic record and finish ahead of the reigning champion and world record holder.
“When I found out we were alone I was very happy because I knew I was going to be second or first. But then she went really fast in the last 600m so I was left behind her.
“Even though I was exhausted, I managed to summon some energy at the end.” American Daniel Romanchuk narrowly defeated Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, once again preventing him from securing four golds in a single Games.. ahead of the Para athletics legend in the men’s 5000m T54.
Fleur Jong retained her title in the women’s long jump T64, breaking the Paralympic record not once, not twice, but three times in the process.
Gold medallists at the Stade de France get to ring a bell that will become part of Notre Dame Cathedral after the Games.
“It’s amazing. I saw the bell (rang by the gold medallists) at the Olympic Games, and I’ve been dreaming of getting the chance to ring that bell myself. And today was the day I got the chance to do it
