Dutch track cyclist Caroline Groot wins first Paralympic gold medal
PARIS — Track cyclist Caroline Groot of the Netherlands won the first gold medal of the Paralympics on Thursday.
Groot won the final of the C4 and C5 categories of the women’s 500-metre time trial in track cycling. It was the first medal event of the Games, which opened with a spectacular ceremony on Wednesday.
Groot took last place after seeing C4 world record holder Kadeena Cox crash during her attempt. The British cyclist was unable to restart as a mechanical error was not the cause of her fall.
Groot won in 35.390 seconds, a world record in C5. French cyclist Marie Patouillet (C5) took silver, France’s first medal of the Games, and Canadian Kate O’Brien (C4) took bronze.
C1 to C5 are paracycling classifications for athletes with physical impairments that affect their legs, arms and/or trunk, resulting in functionality issues, and who can use a standard bicycle.
The C4 is intended for cyclists with lower limb impairments or lower limb functionality problems caused by factors such as cerebral palsy, amputations and other lower limb impairments, while the C5 is intended for cyclists with less severe impairments.
Afghan Paralympic taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi won the refugee team Morocco’s Naoual Laarif won her first Paralympic medal after her opponent withdrew before their bronze medal match.
Marouane Benhadou, the Moroccan team’s physiotherapist, told The Associated Press that Laarif withdrew because of a heavy fall in his previous match. Laarif suffered a concussion, Benhadou said.
At the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo 2021 Paralympics, Khudadadi became the first Afghan woman to compete in an international sporting event since the Taliban took control of the country after Withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
Even though she represents the refugee team in Paris, Khudadadi feels she represents Afghan women who have been deprived of their rights under the Taliban regime.
Ugo Didier delighted the home fans by upsetting the race favourites to win the S9 Para-swimming 400m freestyle final, securing France’s first gold medal.
Didier, 22, a Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, was third in the morning heats but saved his best for last in Thursday’s final, finishing strongly ahead of Italy’s Simone Barlaam and Australia’s Brenden Hall, who took silver and bronze respectively.
Hungarian Zsofia Konkoly won the women’s race.
Kamil Otowski won the men’s 100m backstroke S1 for Poland, while Brazil’s Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo won the S2 classification of the race for Brazil.
In para-swimming, levels S1 to S10 designate physical deficiencies starting with the most severe limitations at level S1 and moving towards the least severe at level S10.
Para-swimmer Elizabeth Marks won the United States’ first medal: silver in the 50m freestyle for the S6 category, the classification for swimmers of small stature, lower torso and leg deficiencies, or loss of two limbs.
“It’s an honor,” Marks said. “We have a very strong, beautiful team, and I’m happy to have been able to represent them.”
It is Marks’ second consecutive silver medal in the event, bringing his total to six medals in three Games.
Jiang Yuyan of China won the gold medal.
Concerns about slow times in the shallower pool at La Défense Arena at the Olympics were put aside at the Paralympics.
After competing in the 100-metre butterfly for the S14 category, the classification for athletes with an intellectual disability, Australian para-swimmer Benjamin Hance said he did not think the depth of the pool made a difference.
“There are no slow pools. There are only slow swimmers,” Hance said.
His Australian teammate Brenden Hall agreed to use an expletive to describe a silly thing after winning the bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle for the S9 category, the classification for athletes with severe weakness in one leg. He added that athletes should be prepared to compete at their highest level, no matter how deep the pool is.
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