The 26-year-old was cheered to victory inside Rio’s Olympic stadium by his father, also called Paul, who is best known for playing a bountyhunter called Greedo in Star Wars shot by the main character Han Solo.
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But despite improving on that time in the final, the 34 year old found herself touched out as Australia’s Maddison Elliott set a new world record of 29.73 to take gold from compatriot Lekeisha Patterson and China’s Shengnan Jiang, with Britain’s Stephanie Slater in fourth.
Canada (world #4) launched their bid for gold September 14 by defeating host Brazil (world #19) 62-48, then edged Great Britain (world #5) 50-49 in an overtime thriller on September 15. “I couldn’t have wished for a better result and the guys have been great”. Having set two personal bests in three of the finals she has contested, it’s going to take a champion to stop her. “Regardless of how I feel like I should’ve performed when it comes down to it, I won two gold medals and that’s always the goal at the Games, to walk away with a victory”.
And her mark of 74.348% earned her the individual silver in the Grade 1a competition behind her gold medal-winning GB team-mate Sophie Christiansen, who scored 78.217%. He said while he doesn’t know Al Hussein personally, “everyone knows of the heroic Syrian swimmer”.
The men won two bronze medals, for Ian Marsden in the KL1 men’s event and Nick Beighton in the KL2 men’s final. “But we won it, and we won it in style”. She competed with able-bodied people and participated in national championship games. In 2014 she was the strong favourite for gold but Cabral was spooked by the TV cameras as he entered the arena. “I am very happy to have reached all the finals in Rio 2016 and also to have won this medal”, she told reporters after her race. “I was so anxious he was going to come in here and do a repeat of WEG. I’m in love with my family, my parents, my brothers, my groom, my partner – everybody that has kept me in the game, kept me here”.
“I’m in love with my team. I’m just gutted we didn’t qualify”, said Chiassaro.
“We’re not just good at swimming, athletics and cycling …”
Next Aaron Moores beat Scott Quin in a British one-two in the S14 100m breaststroke.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Of the almost 4,000 athletes competing in the Rio Paralympics, all but two are doing so for their country. This is surreal at the moment. “I’ve had a change of coach and just injury after injury and up until last week, I didn’t even know which horse I would be bringing”. “I was injured, that was out of my hands, I am an athlete, this is my choice”.
“It’s a dream come true”.
The 24-year-old wheelchair racer said: “To get three golds is absolutely ridiculous”.
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“I think my mother might have got a heart attack”, said Costa de Oliveira.
