Paralympic weightlifter Le Van Cong’s final attempt in the men’s 49kg paralympic weightlifting competition made history for Vietnam as he secured the country’s first ever paraylympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Brazil at dawn on Friday (Vietnam time).
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“Beating my personal best was more expected than the medal because I have put the hard work in so there is no reason why as long as I get my race plan right I can’t go out there and perform”.
“Obviously the times were a lot slower then. Eight years later, nearly to the day, to come away with that gold medal now, I think I truly appreciate what it means and how much work goes into it”.
But at the halfway mark he was lying second and Ukraine swimmer Denys Dubrov looked to have stolen a march on the South African.
The medal is also the first of its kind for Vietnam since it began competing at a Paralympics in 2000.
He has won several medals in national and regional events, including two golds at the 2009 and 2014 ASEAN Para Games and a gold medal at the 2015 Asian Weightlifting Championships. “I can jump into the pool next week and swim a faster time‚ but it’s not going to get me a Paralympic gold‚” Paul said.
The world record got smashed twice during the day’s action and as cycling coach Ricky Kulsen (he served in the same position four years ago in London) said: ‘She rode a personal best as a C3 athlete.
“My coaches always tell me it’s not who touches first at the 50, it’s about who touches first once the race is over”.
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“To be honest with you I was so pleased with how it went this morning; it was so tactical, I got myself in the lane that I wanted to be in and [Denise Grahl] pushed me all the way. And it all paid off”. Langenhoven has 3/60 sight, or, in other words, what those with 20/20 sight can see at 60 metres, Langenhoven can only see at three metres. To do it through a blur of darkness is like sprinting between two electric fences at full tilt. Fourie, a gold medal victor in 2012 as part of the 4x400m relay team, clocked 11.19 to book his place in the final. Eight years ago he took the top prize when he broke the record for the 100m breaststroke at the Beijing Paralympics at the age of 17. Saturday’s 500m time trial is more her style.
