Highlights from day nine of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympic Games.
Cycling
Strathpeffer’s Fin Graham is making his Paralympic debut in Tokyo but was full of confidence coming into his Men’s C1-3 Road Race. He had won a silver medal on the track earlier in the week and took this form into the road event at a rain-soaked Fuji International Speedway. Fin was in the leading pack from the outset and pushed hard to the finishing line in a thrilling climax. He claimed the silver medal in a time of 2:05:43, only 1:20 behind fellow ParalympicsGB rider Benjamin Watson who took gold.
Athletics
Border’s wheelchair racer, Sammi Kinghorn, was back in action today in the T53 Women’s 400m and won her heat in a time of 56.73 to see her comfortably through to the final. Sammi had claimed a bronze medal in the 100m yesterday, her first Paralympic medal. She was back in the Olympic Stadium to face a quality field in the 400m final line up and didn’t disappoint. She recorded a time of 57.25 to claim the silver medal by 0.04 ahead of Hongzhuan Zhou from China, with Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner taking gold in a time of 56.18.
A T11 Women’s 200m heat 3rd place finish for Libby Clegg MBE and her guide Chris Clarke, in a time of 27.93, was not enough to see Libby qualify for tomorrows semi-final.
Following the race Libby announced her retirement from athletics. The two-time Paralympic champion from Rio was still pleased with her performance after a disrupted campaign and will draw her stellar career to a conclusion after Friday’s Universal Relay.
Commenting on her decision, Libby said;
“To finish my career in the Paralympic stadium in Tokyo is amazing,”
“I wasn’t even sure I was going to be here so I’m happy. I’ve still got the relay to come tomorrow which I’m really looking forward to, so I’m ready for that one.
“It has been such an honour to be on such a successful team. There are some incredible young athletes coming through on the Futures programme who are just starting their journey so I’m happy to see them developing out here.”
Mel Woods finished 6th in her T54 Women’s 400m heat in a time of 59.11 but failed to progress to the final.
Wheelchair Tennis
Gordon Reid MBE had played some scintillating tennis to progress to the semi-final of the Men’s Singles competition where he found himself facing world number one, Shingo Kunieda from Japan. The Scot put up a good fight but ultimately lost the tie 6-3, 6-2. Gordon will now fight for the bronze medal on Saturday and will also be back on court tomorrow for the final of the Men’s Doubles competition.
Boccia
Stephen McGuire was a member of the ParalympicsGB pair for their opening Pool A match up against Brazil in the BC4 Pairs competition. They got off to a flying start to lead 6-0 after two ends. However, the Brazilians staged a fight back but couldn’t do enough to stop ParalympicsGB winning the match 6-4.
In their second match of the day the ParalymicsGB pair faced Slovakia, who had also won their opening Pool A match. They came up against a Slovakian pair on top form, who dominated the game from the outset and ran out winners by 8-0. Currently second in their pool, it could be a straight shootout with Canada for the second semi-final spot.
Speaking after his last match, Stephen said;
“They are very, very strong, physically, and that shows why they’re world champions and Paralympic champions.”
“We could have been a bit more clinical. We were creating opportunities, we just needed to take them. If we play them again and take our opportunities, it will be a better game.”
Following the disappointment of just missing out on a medal in the individual competition, the McCowan family were back on court for their opening match in Pool A of the BC3 Pairs Competition. The Scots, along with Beth Moulam, were up against the South Korean pair and it was destined to be a gripping encounter. The match finished 2-2, necessitating an extra end which the South Koreans won by a single shot.
The ParalympicsGB BC3 Pair had to regroup quickly as they were back in action later in the day to face a Greek pair who had won their first Pool A match. It was to be another close match but unfortunately the Greek pair proved too strong and won the match 4-2.
Following the tie, Scott McCowan commented;
“We tried really hard there and I thought we played a great game.”
“I’m struggling a bit more to explain how we lost because at the start we played at a really good level, particularly in the last end. We thought we had the game plan and tactics to play well enough but we didn’t get the job done so it’s extremely disappointing.”
Swimming
Aberdeen’s Toni Shaw laid down a smooth S9 Women’s 100m Butterfly heat with a 3rd place finish in a time of 1:10.41 seeing her through to the final. Toni swam magnificently in the final to record a time of 1:08.87 and a 4th place finish, agonisingly close to a medal.
Toni was back in action at the Tokyo Acquatics Centre for the final race of the day, as part of the ParalympicsGB Women’s 4x100m Medley – 34pts team. Toni swam a fantastic leg in a time of 1:09.22 but unfortunately, the ParalympicsGB time of 4:58.76 resulted in another 4th place finish for Toni.
Louis Lawlor finished 4th in a time of 1:01.43 in his S14 Men’s 100m Backstroke heat which was enough to see him qualify for the final later in the day. Louis set a time of 1:01.80 in a final of exceptional quality to finish in 8th place.
Wheelchair Baketball
Scots Robyn Love and Jude Hamer were involved in the ParalympicsGB 7/8 Classification Playoff match against Spain today. ParalympicsGB dominated the game from the outset, establishing a 22-8 lead in the first quarter, before stretching to a 62-43 victory and ensuring a 7th place finish in Tokyo.
Scotland’s medal tally rises to fifteen with one gold, five silver and nine bronze after nine days of competition.
Photo – courtesy of imagecomms
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