Australian cyclist Paige Greco yesterday earned the first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics, winning the women’s C1-3 3,000m individual pursuit.
It was the first of 24 gold medals up for grabs yesterday, as the Paralympics got under way in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic that has seen new cases in Tokyo soar since the Olympics opened just more than a month ago.
Greco was born with cerebral palsy, which mostly affects the right side of her body. It was her first Paralympic Games medal, winning her race in 3 minutes, 50.815 seconds.
Photo: Reuters
“It feels amazing,” Greco said. “I still can’t believe it. I keep looking down and seeing [the gold medal]. It’s not really sunk in yet.”
Wang Xiaomei of China was second and bronze went to Denise Schindler of Germany.
Greco took up cycling just more than three years ago after competing in track and field for seven years.
Photo: Reuters
Australian teammate William Martin also won gold in the first swimming final of the Paralympics, taking the 400m freestyle in the S9 class in 4 minutes, 10.25 seconds.
In the first wheelchair fencing final, Li Hao of China won gold in the men’s individual saber. He defeated Artem Manko of Ukraine 15-12 in the final.
In the wheelchair rugby pool stage, defending gold medalists Australia suffered a shock setback in their bid to become the first team to top the podium at three consecutive Games, losing 54-53 to Denmark.
Away from the competition, organizers confirmed that two more athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Paralympic Village. That brings to three the total of positive tests by athletes in the village over the past two days.
Organizers have confirmed nine positive tests in the village over the past three days. The additional six, who are not athletes, were described as “Games-related personnel.”
Organizing committee spokesman Masa Takaya said the athletes were “from different sports and different countries.”
However, he gave few details and said the athletes have been placed in isolation.
He was asked if there was a COVID-19 cluster in the village.
“Whether or not there is a cluster should be based on the advice from specialists,” he said.
Japan is expanding its coronavirus state of emergency for a second week in a row, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 strains the country’s healthcare system.
Additional reporting by AFP
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