TVC NEWS Nigerian powerlifter Josephine Orji has set a new world record and won the country’s eighth gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio. Britain’s total haul is now 147.
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“I won my first paralympics medal in 2004, and now, after 12 years, it is just the dedication and hardwork which paid off”, Jhajhariya, who is a coach with the Gandhinagar centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), told IANS from Rio after his victory on Wednesday. On a day full of Paralympic records another was set in the 100m T42 heats as Italian Martina Caironi ran 14.80 for the new mark.
It was in the relay event that Cox, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago, sustained a hamstring injury which ruled her out of the penultimate day’s competition.
Heroic British athletes have earned enduring Olympic glory in Rio – winning an fantastic 200 gold, silver and bronze medals.
One caveat in the medal count is that the Russian team is absent, banned by the International Paralympic Committee for state-sponsored doping.
Libby Clegg claimed the unprecedented successes of the British team can be sustained as the Paralympic Games came to a close in Rio last night with a total of 147 medals leaving the United Kingdom second in the overall standings behind China. Only China, first with 92 medals, Ukraine, 74 medals, and Great Britain, 47 medals, topped the American squad.
Jessica Stretton beat team-mate Jo Frith in the women’s wheelchair final 137-124 to take ParalympicsGB’s overall medal tally to 129.
“When you think back to Seoul, it’s kind of thought to be the first Paralympics of the modern era, but you still had way more classifications out there”, she added.
Another 800m race saw another Paralympic record broken, this time in the T52/53 classification as China’s Hongzhuan Zhou ran 1:48.37 to show that she is the favorite to win her third gold. “Hats off to everyone within the team”.
“After the medal presentation the athletes were allowed just 5 minutes for kisses and tears from proud family between media interviews and drug testing but I got to hold his gold medal and Tom the gold haired mascot he received”.
The bronze medals have 16 steel balls, which makes the lowest sound. But only the top four teams on time advanced to Saturday’s final.
There were two sailing bronze medals – for Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell in the two-person keelboat and for Helena Lucas in the one-person keelboat.
The Paralympics came right after the Rio Olympics, but the image of the disabled Games being a poor cousin in terms of performance is starting to change. So with this triumph, the Islamic Republic finish in 15th in the standings with 8 gold, 9 silver and 7 Bronze medals.
Born in Lagos, Kehinde competed in the men’s 72 kg event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where he also won a gold medal.
Other successes in Rio include Wisbech’s Jody Cundy who found redemption after winning his 1km time trial in the velodrome, four years after being disqualified in London.
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Firth followed up to win the last medal in the pool as she claimed the 200m IM SM14 ahead of Applegate.
