TOBLACH, Italy — After cancelled events in Poland last week the Nordic Skiing system finally got underway this weekend in Toblach.
The United States came away with four wins in the 10km classical events. Jake Adicoff (Guide: Jake Brown) won the men’s vision impaired double, finishing in a time of 30:37.9 in the time trial, just clear of Zebasitian Modin (SWE, Guide: Emil Joensson) who had a factored time of 30:53.4. Thursday’s finish was even closer, a one second win for Adicoff in the mass start, Modin just couldn’t close the gap.
The other US golds were won by a familiar face, Oksana Masters, finishing just 20 seconds clear of teammate Kendall Gretsch to win the women’s sitting races both days.
North America wasn’t done with medals in the 10km classical races there; CanadianMark Arendz claimed the men’s standing race finishing almost one minute ahead of his nearest rival. His was the only win that wasn’t repeated in the mass start race, swapping second place with Japanese skier Taiki Kawayoke.
His teammate Brittany Hudak medaled in the women’s standing interval start, finishing a distant second to Norwegian great Vilde Nilsen before finishing third in the mass-start which was again won by Nilsen.
The hosts had something to cheer about in the men’s sitting which was claimed by Giuseppe Romele who beat out Ukrainian Pavlo Bal twice. This race saw more medals the Canadians with Derek Zaplotinsky claiming bronze in both races.
Germany dominated the women’s vision impaired races with Linn Kazmaier (Guide: Florian Baumann) finishing well in front of her teammate Leonie Maria Walter (Guide: Christian Krasman) to win both races.
Sundays saw the event switch to freestyle after the sprit races were cancelled. It opened with another home gold for Romele to sweep the men’s sitting classification. This time it was Brazilian Cristian Westemaier Barrera who finished second, relegating Bal to bronze.
Masters also completed her sweep, again beating teammate Gretsch, by just five seconds, as the two set a marker for the rest of the field to try and catch next week in Martell.
The men’s standing saw a drastically different result on Sunday with German Marco Meier claiming gold with Arendz not starting the race. Serheii Romaniuk (UKR) finished in second just seven seconds back. Nilsen completed her sweep of the women’s standing events easily, more than a minute ahead of Ukrainian duo Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko.
Adicoff completed his sweep of the men’s vision impaired races, putting the Americans top of the medal table with six. The German domination of the women’s standing was broken in the freestyle race when Simona Bubenickova (CZE) claimed the gold by seven seconds from Kazmaier.
Danielle Souza (BRA) in action on the way to winning the SH-1 title (BWF)
SANTIAGO, Chile — Much like the rest of the Para Pan American Games Brazil proved to be the most successful team in badminton in Santiago. Brazilian players won nine gold medals in a dominant performance.
Two gold medals came from the pair of Marcelo Conceicao and Rogerio Olivera both winning their singles and doubles titles. Conceicao won the WH1 men’s singles and WH1-2 men’s doubles and Olivera won the SL4 men’s singles and SL3-SU5 mixed doubles. The WH1-2 men’s doubles was guaranteed to be a Brazilian gold as Conceicao and partner Julio Cesar Godoy defeated fellow Brazilians Edmar Francisco Barbosa and Radolfo Renato Cano.
Yuki Rodrigues was the only other male winner, claiming the men’s SU5 men’s singles. Brazil swept the WH1 singles crowns with Daniele Souza claiming the women’s, the same holding true in the SL4 with Ana Carolina Reis completing the sweep. The other gold medals came from women’s singles through Abinaecia Silva (SL3) and Mikaela Almeida (SU5).
Two non-Brazilians claimed double gold with Peru’s world champion Pilar Jauregui claiming the WH2 women’s singles and WH1-2 women’s doubles with Jaquelin Burgos Javier. The other double champion was from the USA with Miles Krajewski claiming the SH6 men’s singles and the SH6 mixed doubles with Jayci Simon.
Chile also managed one gold through Jaime Aranguiz who defeated Godoy in the WH2 men’s singles final, denying Brazil another gold medal.
While there was no automatic qualification spot on the line for winning the Para Pan American Games, there were vital “Race to Paris” rankings points that will give the winners a significant boost.
SANTIAGO, Chile — The big names in the athletics at the 2023 Para Pan American Games showed that they are still at the top of the game with gold going the way of the superstars on the first day of competition on the track and in the field.
Omar Durand (guide: Yuniol Kindalen) cruised to gold in the women’s 200m T12 for the third straight time. It wasn’t just winning that was expected it was the margin as the Cuban finished two seconds clear of silver medalist Alejandra Perez (VEN) with a time of 23.63.
That wasn’t her best time of the event, breaking the meet record with a 23.59 in the qualifying round. If she can shave half a second in the next year she could break her own world record in Paris.
One world record did fall, with Elizabeth Rodrigues (BRA) breaking her own women’s discus F53 record. At 58 years old Rodrigues just keeps getting better, breaking the world record she set in Tokyo with a throw of 17.80m, winning the gold and sending a message to the rest of the world.
“I am extremely happy with this world record. It means that the work that we are doing is great. I am already preparing for Paris 2024, but this result in the Parapan American Games makes me feel like if I were in my first competition”, said Rodrigues after the event.
Brazil’s favorites continued winning in the men’s 5000m T11 with Yeltsin Jacques Ortega (guide: Edelson De Avila) running 15:13.10. That saw him demolish the meet record by 26 seconds, showing continued improvement after winning gold in Tokyo.
There was a Brazilian battle in the women’s 200m T11 in a thrilling race. Jerusa Gerber edged out Thalita Simplico, reversing their finishing order from the Paralympic Games where they were second and third. Gerber went on to tell the world that the 100m is the one she really expects to do well as it is her preferred event.
Another meet record fell in the women’s shot put F20 through Poleth Isamar Mendes (ECU) as she extended the record with a throw of 13.91 for her second straight gold in the event.
The biggest upset of the day came in the men’s 400m T38 as American Ryan Medrano beat Mexico’s Paralympic Champion, Jose Rodolfo Chessani.
Brazil is well out in front in the Para Pan American Games medal tally with 67 gold, 45 silver and 43 bronze. The USA is second but well off the pace with 20 gold.
All photos: Marcelo Hernández / Santiago 2023 via Photosport
Laurens Devos (BEL) semifinal bound in Pajulahti (Photo: ITTF/Michael Loveder)
PAJULAHTI, Finland — The Finland Para Open table tennis got under way on Friday with the men’s singles events swiftly reaching the knockout rounds ahead of some finals tomorrow.
There were two thrillers in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles class 2. The number one seed Guilherme Marcio Da Costa (BRA) was eliminated in the quarters by Spanish number four seed Daniel Rodriguez, who won the last two gams 11-9, 11-7 to advance. He will meet Jiri Suchanek (CZE) in the semifinal after another 3-2 win in even more dramatic fashion. Suchanek came from two games down winning the last three 11-9, 11-6, 11-9.
The other semifinal will be between Boris Stoiljkovic (SRB) and Iker Sastre (ESP) who won their matches 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.
Class 3 also saw two 3-2 matches. Alexander Ohgren (SWE) advanced, after winning the first he gave up the next two games. That forced him to come back and he did, winning the last two 11-9, 11-8. He will play Florian Merrien (FRA) who has only dropped one game all tournament.
Petr Svatos (CZE) overcame Colin Judge (IRE) 3-2. His win was different, winning the first two games before losing two straight he won the decider 11-7. He’ll face Yuichiro Kitagawa (JPN) who won his quarter 3-1.
Similarly, class 7 has two semifinalists whose quarterfinals went the distance. Hiromoto Kita (JPN) needed extra points to win his match, winning the third 12-10 to complete a comeback. Kita’s opponent will be Brazilian Paulo Sergio Salmin Filho who won 3-1.
The other semifinal is also a Brazilian against a Japanese player and they followed a similar route. Kosuke Hemmi (JPN) also needed extra points to win his quarter final. After losing the second and third games by large margins he won the fourth 12-10 and the fifth 14-12. He will meet Paulo Henrique Fonseca in the semifinal.
The class 8 quarters were much more simple. Vit Spalek (CZE) was the only one who dropped a game, the three others swept their way to the semis.
The women’s singles also reached the semifinals, but with smaller fields had no quarter finals. Saturday will see the singles championships awarded while the doubles get started. Matches can be followed live through the ITTF event page.
SHEFFIELD, England – On a day when British swimmers took headlines it was a Brazilian, Gabriel Dos Santos Araujo who was the biggest star. The opening day of the Para Swimming World Series event at Ponds Forge on Thursday saw plenty of excitement but Gabrielzinho closed the day with a flourish.
It was a dominant performance from Araujo who used a strong first 50m to break the world record in the men’s 150m individual medley in his SM2 class. His time of 3:23.83 was actually fourth in the final but in a multiclass event, he was the clear winner. Austrian Andreas Emhofer (SM4) was the first to touch the wall, getting silver while British swimmer Lyndon Longhorne broke the national record for SM4 when he finished third.
Brazil bookended the night with gold, as the opening final was won by Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago won the women’s 100m Freestyle. She was the only swimmer under one minute easily claiming gold ahead of Yuyan Jiang (CHN) and Lisette Bruinsma (NED) who completed the podium.
It was a good day for British swimmers, the only other country to win two events. William Ellard broke the British S14 record in the men’s 100m freestyle on his way to gold in 51.97. Gabriel Banderia won another medal for Brazil with silver while Laurent Chardard and Stephen Clegg tied for bronze with an identical factored score.
Maisie Summers-Newton was the other British winner, claiming gold in the women’s 200m individual medley. Her time of 2:57.19 was a British record in the SM6 classification. Two Britons made the podium with Grace Harvey managing the bronze with Anastasia Dmytriv (ESP) claiming the silver medal.
Argentina made a dent on its regional rivals with a gold medal of its own. Inaki Basiloff won the men’s 200m individual medley in a tight battle. His 962 points just saw him past Naohide Yamaguchi (JPN) with Rogier Dorsman (NED) a little further back for the bronze medal.
China broke through for a gold medal in the second last event of the night. Yu Liu claimed the win in the women’s 150m individual medley. She was just 14 points clear of Patricia Pereira dos Santos (BRA) with Ellie Challis (GBR) only 13 further back. Challis also managed a national record with a time of 3:20.72 setting a new mark for the SM3.
The event continues on Friday with backstroke and breaststroke events.
BONN, Germany – The IBSA Blind Football World Grand Prix will be finally making a stop at the most successful blind football nation. The 2023 edition will be hosted in Sao Paulo, Brazil in May.
Centro de Treinamento Paralímpico Brasileiro in Sao Paulo will host the event. The venue is essentially the home of Paralympic Sport in Brazil, hosting training facilities for 15 sports, including blind football. The whole tournament will be played on the one blind football field, in addition with residential services all the participating teams can be housed where games will be played.
Brazil is the most successful blind football team in the world, having won five of the seven world championships and all five Paralympic Games gold medals. Despite that, only two blind football specific events have been held in Brazil, the 1998 and 2002 World Championships. As a result hosting this event will boost the sport, which saw lots of exposure at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Sao Paulo is a football mad city, home to one of the most successful clubs in Brazilian history, Sao Paulo FC. Development is big in Sao Paulo, priding itself on producing some of Brazil’s best talent, including blind footballer Ricardinho who won multiple national blind football titles with Sao Paulo FC’s blind football team.
Eight national teams will compete in Sao Paulo with teams arriving on May 20th and time for classification before the final is held on May 27th.
MADEIRA, Portugal – Italy claimed the number one ranking in the 2022 Para World Swimming Championships this weekend in Madeira. It was the second straight time the Italians finished on top of the medal tally, winning 27 gold medals.
The final of those medals came in the last event of the championships, the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points, breaking the world record with a time of 4:02.53. That saw Simone Barlaam and Stefanoe Raimondi claim their sixth gold medals, joined by Giulia Terzi and Xenia Palazzo on top of the podium for the event.
It was the second win for Baralaam and Raimondi of the night. Baralaam won the men’s 50m freestyle S9, equaling his world record. Raimondi won the men’s 100m backstroke S10 earlier in the day.
The USA had an excellent final day, claiming five gold medals to lift itself up to second place in the table. Leanne Smith completed a perfect week, winning her seventh gold medal after two more gold medals on the final day.
Brazil was third in the medal tally, managing 19 gold medals. Two gold medals, one to Gabriel Bandeira and the other to Mariana Ribeiro, pushed them into third.
Tully Kearney (GBR) set her third world record for the meet. This time it was the women’s 100m freestyle S5 with a time of 1:13:34. That will be something Kearney tries to continue on next year at the home world championships in Manchester.
SAO PAULO, Brazil — With COVID-19 still impacting the world, the International Blind Sports Association announced that the Goalball Youth World Championship will return to its normal cycle. That will mean that the next championships will be held in 2023 and will remain in the original 2021 host, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
That will see the hosts looking to defend their girls’ championship won in Penrith, Australia in 2019. The tournament is expected to see at least eight teams in boys and girls divisions. A maximum of 10 teams will compete in any division.
It will be a big year for goalball in Sao Paulo with the Americas Championship being hosted in the city in February before this event in July. The Americas Championship will mark the start of Paralympic qualification.
The event should be hosted at the Brazilian Paralympic Training Center which hosted the 2017 Americas Championships and has made Sao Paulo a hub for para-sport in Brazil. The venue was created as part of the 2016 Paralympic Games legacy and has significantly boosted Brazil’s Paralympic Games performances.
Thailand will join Brazil in entering the tournament as defending champions, having won the boy’s division in Penrith.
TOKYO — Saturday was the second last day of events at Tokyo 2020 which saw history made in badminton and more team champions crowned.
Indonesian badminton pair makes history
Photo: BWF
History was made on the badminton courts as the Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu added Paralympic gold to their Olympic gold won earlier this year. They made light work of the Chinese pair winning 21-18, 21-12 to claim the women’s doubles SL3-SU5. That win made the pair the first people to claim Paralympic and Olympic gold at the same Games.
The honor of being the first Paralympic badminton champion went to Cheah Liek Hou (MAS) as he managed a clinical performance in the men’s SU5.
Home hopes were dashed in the women’s SU5 as Yang Qiu Xia (CHN) defeated Ayako Suzuki convincingly 21-17, 21-9. Japan did manage a gold medal later in the day as the women’s WH1 was won by Sarina Satomi who came back from a game down to beat Sujirat Pookkaham (THA).
Pramod Bhagat (IND) confidently predicted that he would win gold in Tokyo and delivered it by winning the men’s SL3. He claimed the win in two games, claiming a 21-14, 21-17 win, coming back from 4-11 down in the second game.
China claimed two more gold medals to lead the way in the sport, the first came through Qu Zi Mo whose opponent retired while down in the second game in the men’s WH1. An all-Chinese final in the women’s WH2 was claimed by Liu Yu Tong who won both games 21-15.
India claimed gold and silver in the mixed 50m pistol SH1 as the country continued its most successful Paralympic Games ever. The medals took India to 17 medals, four of them gold, coming into these Games India had only won 12 medals in 11 appearances, improving from the previous best of Rio 2016 when four medals were won.
Manish Narwal, at just 19 years old, showed nerves of steel to claim gold, shooting a Paralympic record of 218.2. His teammate, Singhraj Adana, 20 years his senior, claimed his second medal of these Games finishing on 216.7. Adana thanked his wife after claiming silver, her lucky hat doing the trick.
It was a dramatic comeback from the Indian pair who were sitting fourth and fifth at the beginning of the elimination stages but calmed down to get the top two medals.
Azerbaijan athletics success continues
Photo: Lintao Zhang
Azerbaijan continued its best Games with two gold medals in athletics at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Lamiya Valieva claimed gold in the women’s 400m T13, setting a new Paralympic record time of 55.00, Azerbaijan’s first track gold ever. Orkhan Aslanov backed up his teammate claiming gold in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.36m. After his win, he credited the energy to make the big jump to Valieva’s win energizing him and spurring him on.
There was history for Jordan which claimed its first athletics Paralympic gold medal when Ahmad Hindi won the men’s shot put F34 with a world record throw of 12.15m. By comparison, Hannah Cockroft (GBR) won her seventh gold medal, keeping her perfection intact. Cockroft cruised to the win in the women’s 800m T34, winning by over 10 seconds.
After switching from CP Football when it was removed from the Paralympic program Nick Mayhugh (USA) became a star of athletics and claimed a new world record in the men’s 100m T37. Mayhugh scorched the track running a time of 21.91 finishing over one second clear, vindicating his decision to switch.
Brazil remains perfect
Photo courtesy IBSA Football
There was never a doubt, Brazil continued its Paralympic blind football undefeated record claiming gold against rivals Argentina at Aomi Urban Sports Park with a 1-0 win.
The goal would have been a deserved winner in any football match coming in the 13th minute of the second half. Nonato made a phenomenal run through the Argentine defense weaving between two defenders, powering it with his left foot past the keeper to win gold. Brazil’s defense held firm keeping a clean sheet meaning the side didn’t concede a goal in the tournament.
History was made in the bronze medal match as Morocco wrapped up its stunning tournament with a medal, winning bronze. Continuing to persist with three deep defenders and a lone striker it paid off as the side claimed a 4-0 win.
It only took three minutes for Morocco to open the scoring as Zouhair Snisla ran through the Chinese defense to score. He’d double up two minutes before the break to put his side well and truly in control. He scored two more in the second half to wrap up the win, creating joyous scenes after the match.
Alcott and Kunieda claim fourth gold medals
Photo: Paralympics Australia
Dylan Alcott (AUS) edged closer to completing his quest of being the first quad player to win the wheelchair tennis golden slam as he claimed gold in the quad singles on Saturday. Alcott was forced to fight for the first set, winning it in a tiebreak but he used that momentum to power away in the second set and win 6-1 to defend his title and win his fourth Paralympic gold medal after a double in 2016 and wheelchair basketball gold in 2008.
Shingo Kunieda (JPN) sealed gold for the hosts in the men’s singles completing his comeback from a disappointing result in Rio five years ago. Kunieda was much too strong for Tom Egberink (NED) winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
While it was a rare down day for the Netherlands the country couldn’t go a day without winning a wheelchair tennis gold as the Dutch swept the women’s medals. Diede de Groot backed up from winning the singles a day earlier to claim doubles gold with her partner Aniek van Koot, winning the second set tiebreak to win 6-2, 7-6.
Dutch avenge group stage loss to claim gold
Photo: Adam Pretty
Netherlands’ success continued at the Ariake Arena as the Dutch claimed their first women’s wheelchair basketball gold medal. The side only lost one game, to China, which they faced again in the gold medal match.
It was a dominant performance from the winners especially on the defensive side as they restricted China to cruise to a 50-31 win. Bo Kramer was the star for the gold medalists falling just short of a double-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
The USA claimed the bronze medal match completing a disappointing tournament for Germany, winning 64-51. Rose Hollerman starred with a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists while Lindsey Zurbrugg led the scoring with 22 points.
Tiebreak wraps up archery competition
Photo: World Archery
RPC managed a dramatic comeback to claim the final archery gold medal of Tokyo 2020 as they claimed the mixed team recurve title. The RPC came from behind to beat Italy in a tiebreak that took two arrows to wrap up.
Italy led 4-2 but from there RPC came back and won the next set with a 10 to take it away from the Italians and force a tiebreak. The first tiebreak saw both archers hit nine but in the second Elisabetta Mijno faltered hitting an eight allowing Kirll Smirnov to come through and win with a nine.
Thailand wins third straight boccia gold
Photo: World Boccia
Watcharaphon Vongsa was the star for Thailand again as he led his side to a third straight gold medal in the boccia BC 1-2 team event. After trailing China 2-0 in the first end the Thais came back and scored eight straight points to win 8-2.
Another all-Asian final was claimed by the Korea Republic in the BC3 team event winning a tiebreak after a 4-4 tie. The tiebreaker was just as close with the Koreans ending up just closer than the Japanese ball to claim a one-point win.
The final title was claimed by Slovakia which won the BC4 team gold with a 3-2 win over China.
Great Britain tops canoe medal tally
Photo: ICF
British paddlers claimed two more gold medals on Saturday to help the country top the spot in the canoe medal tally.
Charlotte Henshaw won the first British gold vindicating her switch from swimming as she managed a dominant win in the women’s KL2 final. Another British paddler who switched from another sport claimed the other gold. Laura Sugar swapped from athletics in 2018 and won the gold in the women’s KL3.
Curtis McGrath (AUS) completed the double as he added the VL3 to his earlier KL3 becoming the first athlete to win two canoeing gold medals in the same Games. Edina Mueller (GER) pulled off a shock in the women’s KL1, backing up her strong heat performance.
After missing out on his home Games five years ago Rufino de Paulo (BRL) was back and won the gold he missed out on in Rio. De Paulo charged home in the men’s VL2 to win an emotional gold medal.
Iran wins seventh volleyball gold
Photo: World Para Volley
Iran defended the men’s sitting volleyball gold medal with a four-set win over RPC on Saturday, claiming the gold 25-21, 25-14, 19-25, 25-17. Morteza Mehrzadeslakjani was the star for the champions scoring 28 points through 25 spikes, two blocks, and an ace.
The scoring was led by an RPC player, Viktor Milenin managing 30 points through 22 attacks, five aces, and three blocks. It was a tight fight from RPC but losing the third set woke up the Iranians who cruised to the win in the fourth.
Top seeds claim gold on the final day of Taekwondo
Photo: World Taekwondo
People looking for upsets were left disappointed as the best the unfancied athletes could do was the semi-finals in taekwondo at the Nippon Budokan on Saturday. The two finals were both closely fought encounters with the gold medalists only claiming the win by tight margins.
Guljonoy Naimova (UZB) shot out to a four-point lead in the first round and never looked back, wrapping up the win with a body kick with one minute to play to win the women’s K44 +59kg. Asghar Aziziaghdam (IRI) left it late to win the men’s K44 +75kg. It was a back-and-forward match as Ivan Mimulic (CRO) shot out to a 6-1 lead in the first round before Aziziaghdam came back with a 9-1 second. Mimulic claimed three points early in the final round to tie things up only for Azizaghdam to win with a body kick with 19 seconds on the clock.
TOKYO — Pakistan made history at the Paralympic Games on Friday as canoeing added a new category in another busy day as Tokyo 2020 heads to a climax.
Pakistan claims first gold medal
Photo: Carmen Mandato
Haider Ali made history for Pakistan as he claimed his nation’s first Paralympic gold medal. Finishing almost three meters ahead of the field in the men’s discus F37 he threw 55.26m to set a new Paralympic record in the process.
The rain kept pouring in Tokyo but it didn’t stop Anna Grimaldi (NZL) from setting a new Paralympic record in the women’s long jump T47. She was in front from the start and never looked back, breaking the record twice in the final and set the new mark at 5.76m.
Va’ medals awarded for the first time
Photo: ICF
A third straight day of history came in the canoeing events as the newly added Va’ events saw medals awarded for the first time on Friday. It was Emma Wiggs (GBR) who made history winning the first medal in the new category the women’s VL2.
Teenager Peter Pal Kiss (HUN) continued his impressive form capping his amazing year with a gold medal in the men’s KL1. He crossed the line 2.5 seconds clear in a new Paralympic record of 45.447, breaking the record he set in the heats.
There were plenty of tight finishes in the last road races of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with the wet conditions only adding to the drama.
The hosts got some hardware in the first race of the day as Keiko Segura sprinted away at the death and managed to win the women’s C1-3, putting to bed any doubts that the 50-year-old should have retired. Behind her was a tight race for the other medals with Anna Beck (SWE) and Paige Greco (AUS) claiming the medals just ahead of Xiaomei Wang (CHN).
An early crash in the men’s C4-5 created drama but an incredible recovery from Yehor Dementyev (UKR) made a race of it. He pushed Kevin le Cunff (FRA) but on the final climb, the Frenchman broke clear, cracking Dementyev to claim gold.
Table tennis wraps up in style
It was supposed to be a tight final for the women’s team 9-10 but Poland ended up making light work of the two individual gold medalists in the classifications beating Australia in two matches. The doubles tie was tight going all the way to five games with Poland just edging it 11-9 in the fifth. In a rematch of the Class 10 semi-final, Natalia Partyka got revenge over Qian Yang, winning comfortably 11-5, 11-9, 11-5.
Dutch tennis dominance continues
Photo; Naomi Baker
The Netherlands added three more medals to their wheelchair tennis tally with some more impressive results on Friday. It began with the quad singles bronze medal match as Niels Vink capped his tournament with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over home hope Koji Sugeno.
There was more heartbreak for the Japanese in the women’s singles as Yui Kamiji fell to Diede de Groot after putting up a fight in the second set. After de Groot claimed the first set 6-3, Kamiji pushed de Groot to a tie-break but the Dutch woman came through to win in straight sets and extend the Netherlands successful run in the event to 29 years.
Brazil and Turkey claim goalball gold
Photo courtesy IBSA Goalball
Brazil won its first men’s goalball gold medal as a stunning performance from Josemarcio Sousa sent his side past China 7-2. Sousa scored another hattrick to cap his stunning tournament, finishing with 26 goals.
Turkey defended its women’s goalball title, becoming just the second team to do so, with a comprehensive 9-2 win over the USA. It was a clinical performance especially from Sevda Altunoluk who scored all nine of the Turkish goals.
China finishes swimming on top
Facing a threat from RPC Chinese swimmers doubled down winning four medals to claim the top spot in the swimming medal tally. China won 19 gold medals, 56 total to finish in front of the rest of the field in a stunning two weeks.
Liu Yu was the star of the day claiming gold in the women’s 50m backstroke S4 breaking her own world record from the heats. Li Guizhi also claimed gold for China completing a full set of Tokyo medals she won the women’s 100m freestyle S11, setting a new Paralympic record in the process.
Long term dreams fulfilled
Photo: Alex Davidson
Lisa Gjessing (DEN) a key figure in getting Taekwondo added to the Paralympic Games fulfilled her wishes of winning Paralympic gold. She won the women’s K44 -58kg with a strong final against Beth Munro (GBR)
It was a dramatic finish in the shooting as Zhang Cuiping (CHN) claimed gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1. She needed a near-flawless shot with her final bullet and she got there to claim the win.
China’s domination in archery came to an end as Kevin Mather (USA) won the gold in the men’s individual recurve open final claiming the win 6-4.
More finals set in sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball
Photo: World Para Volley
The United States could defend their women’s sitting volleyball title as they managed a strong match to eliminate Brazil in straight sets. Heather Erickson scored 12 points in a comprehensive win with the USA taking advantage of Brazil’s slow start to win 25-19, 25-11, 25-23.
China made their fifth straight final and set up a rematch of the 2016 final after a straight-sets win over Canada. Tang Xuemei scored 13 points to lead the way in three tight sets winning 25-19, 25-20, 25-16.
Japan’s incredible run in the men’s wheelchair basketball to make the final taking a big win over Great Britain 79-68. They will face the USA as they proved too strong for Spain for a 66-52 win in the earlier semi-final.
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