All the day six news and reaction
Hewett and Reid are through to the wheelchair tennis semi-finals. They closed out victory over their Belgian opponents 6-2, 6-2 and the British top seeds now take their place in the last four.
That wraps up our live coverage of the day six action from Tokyo. We’ll leave you with Paul MacInnes’s report from what is indisputably going to be one of the highpoints of the whole thing. Thanks for joining us, and hey, let’s do this again on day seven. Good day!
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Earlier on, Ellie Robinson gave us one of the moments of these Games with this impassioned interview on Channel 4. It’s a poignant reminder of the struggles and sacrifices so many Para-athletes go through just to be here.
Wheelchair tennis latest: Hewett and Reid broke early in the second set, but their Belgian opponents have hit back. The British pair lead 6-2, 3-2, but we’re back on serve.
Day six was a cathartic one for Australian table tennis fans …
Back in the wheelchair tennis … Hewett and Reid have taken the first set against Gerard and Vandorpe. The Belgians broke back to 4-2 after their slow start but were unable to make further inroads, losing the set 6-2.
All courts are now into their final matches of the day as the action begins to wind down in Tokyo for another day. Once again the medal table makes great reading for fans of China (now on 54 golds) and Britain (26 golds) …
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Japan hesitant in embracing Paralympics
Gavin Blair reports from Tokyo …
While it is difficult to assess the exact impact of the pandemic on attitudes towards the Paralympics, it is hard to deny that they have not been embraced in the way the Olympics were, despite significant public opposition in the lead up to hosting the Games.
Nearly 4.5 million tickets were sold for the Tokyo Olympics, compared to around 770,000 for the Paralympics, though ultimately none were able to be used for either event due to the pandemic. By way of comparison, more than two million tickets were sold for the 2012 Paralympics in London.
And the opening ceremony of the Olympics logged viewing figures of more than 54% in Japan, while fewer than 24% tuned in for the Paralympics counterpart.
In terms of coverage, public broadcaster NHK is leading the way with a plan to broadcast more than 500 hours of the Paralympics across all its channels and online. But the situation at the big five commercial stations is very different, each broadcasting one event plus limited highlights of other para-sports.
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Our daily briefings are a great wrap-up of each days’ action in Tokyo.
Not signed up yet? Say, why not do so right now. It’s miles kinder on the eyes than scrolling backwards through all this frantically-bashed out bloggy stuff.
The T64 men’s 100m medals are being handed out. Peacock and Floors look thrilled with their bronzes, but what a moment for Costa Rica’s Sherman Guity Guity. Well out of the conversation in the runup to the final, he took a sensational silver and is beaming behind his mask in what I have to say is an extremely tidy red Puma track top.
Felix Streng is the man atop the podium however, and the 26-year-old looks a formidable champion with many more races and at least another Games or two potentially ahead of him.
Sport at its finest.
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) August 30, 2021
A very, very special 100m final.#Paralympics pic.twitter.com/1SKBBh2BCM
Still not over it.#Tokyo2020 #C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/iA2grsLSJ5
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) August 30, 2021
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Back on court … Britain’s Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett are in charge of their wheelchair tennis quarter-final against Joachim Gerard and Jef Vandorpe of Belgium. The top seeds are 4-0 up in the opening set.
Ellie Robinson, the British Paralympic swimmer, has revealed the struggles she endured just to get to Tokyo as she battled a chronic condition in her right hip that looks set to end her swimming career on the day she turned 20.
In her own words it is a “story of triumph, not a story of defeat” after Robinson made it to the final of the women’s S6 50m butterfly in her second Paralympic Games. She placed fifth in the race, an achievement she said had allowed her to “finish on my own terms” after Perthes’ disease meant that “time was up” for her hip.
“Even though I have deteriorated physically and my hip is in a very bad way, I think I am mentally stronger than ever,” Robinson said after the race. “I am so proud of where I am. I don’t want this to be a story of sorrow and heartbreak, I want this to be a story of triumph because it is. I did what I wanted to do and I finished on my own terms and proved to myself that I had it in me.
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Some more athletics results to wrap up … Mahdi Olad took men’s F11 shot put gold for Iran, with Alessandro da Silva winning silver for Brazil and Oney Tapia bronze for Italy.
The RPC’s Evgenii Torsunov won the T36 long jump in a Games record of 5.76m. New Zealand’s William Stedman saved his best for last, taking silver with a national record leap of 5.64m. Roman Pavlyk of the Ukraine also improved at the final opportunity, pipping Aser Almeida Ramos to bronze by 5cm with his last-round effort 5.63m.
More Ukrainian medals in the F53 women’s discus, with Iana Lebiedieva and Zoia Ovsii taking silver and bronze respectively in their F53 and F51 categories. But it was Brazil’s Elizabeth Rodrigues Gomes who took the gold, in a new F52 world record of 17.62m.
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More from that T64 100m – lest it go overlooked, Sherman Guity Guity actually won Costa Rica’s first ever Paralympic medal in taking silver.
Guity benefitted from the Games’ postponement as he was suspended for two years for a doping violation – one I stress that the IPC ruled was not intentional – and only became eligible to return to competition last month. And now: history for his country, a brilliant silver medal and a personal best.
It's a FIRST EVER Paralympic Medal for Costa Rica!
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
Sherman Guity Guity runs a Personal Best to take the #Silver for #CRC #ParaAthletics #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/KGdyjyeaiH
Pearson and Wilson win equestrian gold and bronze for Britain
Yet more British medals from the Equestrian Park. Lee Pearson – who has somehow been almost as impressive in front of a mic as he has been on a horse in Tokyo – has taken dressage gold with Breezer in the individual freestyle test grade II event.
Paralympics debutant Georgia Wilson repeated the trick from Thursday’s grade II individual test, taking her second bronze of these Games on Sakura, while Austria’s Pepo Puch took silver.
What a result for @ParalympicsGB in the Grade 2 Dressage Individual Freestyle!#Gold goes to Lee Pearson of #GBR #Silver goes to Pepo Puch of #AUT #Bronze goes to Georgia Wilson of #GBR #Equestrian #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
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GOLD! Australia win men's 4x100m free 34pts
To wrap up today’s action in the pool … Australia took a brilliant gold and world record in the final event of day six, the men’s 4x100m freestyle 34pts. This features athletes from a range of categories, where the numbers have to add up to no more than 34.
Gold then to Rowan Crothers (S10), William Martin (S9), Matthew Levy (S7) and Ben Popham (S8) – their time of 3:44.31 gave them the win over quartets from Italy (3:45.89) and Ukraine (3:47.40).
A little earlier, Ihar Boki took gold for Belarus in the SM13 men’s 200m IM, with Alex Portal and Thomas van Wanrooij rounding out the medals.
Jia Ma won the SM11 women’s IM from her Chinese compatriot Cai Liwen, with 17-year-old Anastasia Pagonis taking bronze for the US.
Streng speaks!
The gold medallist tells Channel 4: “It was a tough race. I think it was the strongest race in Paralympics history.
“All the hard work we put in, it all worked out. What we want to show in Paralympic sports is that it’s very competitive. We need way more international races, to get back on the Diamond League circuit.”
The latter point is a hugely important one. These athletes are absolutely phenomenal and nobody’s wandering to buy a hotdog when they take to the track. Every athletics meeting I’ve been to where there have been disability events included, at every level from local to national and international, they have had the crowds absolutely spellbound. Front and centre please, always.
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Peacock speaks!
The bronze medallist tells Channel 4: “The last 30 … I started going backwards, I started leaning backwards … I probably should have won that.”
“I’m happy, I had a hamstring injury in May. I’m really happy to have turned this around.”
It’s a mixture of what-ifs and pride from the Brit, who was clear before Tokyo that he was not favourite for gold. But he was right up there all the way to the line. Take nothing away from Streng and Guity however, and with every replay it’s really quite astonishing how far back in the field Floors came back from to take his share of bronze.
BRONZE! Jonnie Peacock third in T64 100m for GB
Streng took victory in 10.76, with Costa Rica’s Sherman Guity Guity second in a brilliant PB of 10.78 … Peacock and Johannes Floors will share bronze after both crossed the line in 10.79.
It was a sensational finish from Floors, roaring back from well adrift as Peacock seemed to be tying up slightly. It was a best effort of the year from the Briton, who arrived in Tokyo having failed to get below 11 seconds beforehand.
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GOLD! Felix Streng wins T64 100m for Germany
The other medals will need the photo finish to unpick them. That was tight at the line, with GB’s Peacock in the mix, but the German was just about clear.
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For context, this is not the same category (T44) where Peacock won gold in 2012 and 2016. The T64 classification introduced since the Rio Games is explained as: “Lower limb/s competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference.” Peacock is third-fastest on time. They’re taking the blocks …
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Next up on the track … the T64 men’s 100m final. Jonnie Peacock v Felix Streng v Johannes Floors. For the first time today, my eyes are on one event and one event only. This could be one of the highlights of these Games.
GOLD! Anton Prohorov wins T63 100m for RPC
A tight finish … but RPC’s Anton Prokhorov blasts out of the blocks and holds off a storming pick-up from Brazil’s Vinicius Rodrigues – who was fourth at halfway – to take victory in 12.04sec and the T42 world-record. Rodrigues ran out of track in chasing him down and was just one hundredth behind, with Germany’s Leon Schaefer winning bronze in a PB of 12.22.
It’s men’s T63 100m final time … and this should be a cracker. Games champion, world champion and world-record holder all feature …
In the T36 men’s long jump … Evgenii Tursunov now leads the way for Not Russia, with a Games record of 5.76. They’re partway through the penultimate round there.
More news from the pool. A short time ago, Italy’s Carlotta Gilli won her second gold of these Games, and her fifth medal in five events, in the women’s SM13 200m individual medley. She finished 5.36sec clear of Colleen Young of the USA in a new world record, with Uzbek athlete Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova (a name worth 53 points in Scrabble) taking bronze.
That’s now two golds, two silvers and a bronze for the 20-year-old Italian.
THE BEST TIME EVER ⏰
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
Carlotta Gilli sets a new World Record with a time of 2:21.44 mins in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM13 😰 #GOLD Carlotta Gilli #ITA #SILVER Colleen Young #USA #BRONZE Shokhsanamkhon Toshpulatova #UZB #ParaSwimming #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics
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GOLD! Sumit Antil win F64 javelin for India
Sumit Antil has taken a stunning F64 javelin gold for India. What a competition – three world records and a no-throw among his six efforts. And it wasn’t the only world-record out there: final-round drama saw Australia’s Michael Burian hurl his final throw to 66.29m, a world-record for the F44 category which forms part of the umbrella F64 classification. That was more than good enough for silver.
That throw beat Dulan Kodithuwakku’s F44 world-record of 65.61 from the fourth round, relegating the Sri Lankan athlete into bronze.
Antil’s story is quite something – he was a wrestling prodigy whose career was derailed after a tractor crushed his left leg during an accident while he was out cycling. This is his first Paralympics, and his first medal. On today’s form it doesn’t look like it’ll be his last.
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Phew. I can vouch that even crossing the room to flick a light switch (it’s murky here in SG19 today) results in you missing something. In the athletics, GB’s Columba Blango is among the qualifiers for the final in the men’s T20 (intellectual impairment) 400m. Deliber Rodriguez Ramirez topped the standings with 48.57sec, with Blango one of six athletes going below 49sec. That final is tomorrow and could be an absolute cracker.
Jordanne Whiley has won her second-round match in the tennis, beating Manami Tanaka 6-1, 6-0 in just 52 minutes.
Daniel was frantically scrabbling for a clip earlier … but Channel 4 have now published this wonderful, emotional poolside interview with Ellie Robinson. Watch this now please.
🗣 “This is a story of triumph, this is NOT a story of defeat!”
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) August 30, 2021
If you watch one thing today, make sure it’s this @EllieRobinsonGB interview.#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/NDIo1f2yq3
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In the tennis … Jordanne Whiley closed out the first set and is a break up in the second. Alfie Hewett, meanwhile, has joined GB teammate and doubles partner Gordon Reid in the next phase thanks to a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Ruben Spaargaren of the Netherlands.
However GB’s Lucy Shuker, however, is out after a straight-sets defeat by China’s Zu Zhenzhen. She took the first set to a tie-break against the seventh seed but went down 7-6 (2), 6-2.
In the Olympic Stadium, Venezuela’s Linda Perez Lopez took victory the second T11 100m semi-final with a PB of 12.29.
Things tightened up a little in the F64 javelin, with Dulan Kodithuwakku of Sri Lanka cutting Antil’s lead thanks to a PB of 65.61m. How best to respond? Another bloody world record – the Indian thrower’s third in five throws. He now leads with 68.55m, with the final round shortly to begin.
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SILVER! Natasha Baker wins equestrian medal for GB
More horse-based bling for ParalympicsGB. Baker, a triple gold-medallist in Rio, has ridden Keystone Dawn Chorus to second place in the Individual Freestyle Test – Grade III.
Tobias Jorgensen of Denmark danced majestically with his mount for a huge score to take gold – his second of the Games – while Ann Cathrin Lübbe of Norway won bronze.
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Back at the Ariake Tennis Centre, Jordanne Whiley, the fourth seed, has stormed to a 5-0 lead in the opening stages against Japan’s Manami Tanaka. She’ll shortly be serving for the first set. The Brit is the daughter of Keith Whiley, who took a bronze in athletics at the 1984 Games, as well as taking part in the shooting.
Smith starts well but Italy’s Trimi turns first – the Italian powers away from the American on the second length and just misses the world record. Iuliia Shishova of Not Russia takes bronze, with Challis fourth, just shy of her own British record, which she set in qualifying.
At Tokyo Aquatics Centre – the S3 100m freestyle final is about to take place. Ellie Challis – just 17 – took silver in the 50m backstroke yesterday, and goes again here. Arjola Trimi, who won gold in that race, also lines up. Leanne Smith of the USA was fastest qualifier and completes the trio seeded in the centre lanes.
Back on track … the women’s T11 (vision impairment) 100m semi-finals are taking place. In the first of two, Brazi’s Jerusa Geber dos Santos has made it through, in a time of 12.26sec. In the field, more good news for Brazil as Aser Mateus Almeida Ramos leads the way in the early stages of the T36 (coordination impairments) long jump.
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GB’s Gordon Reid is through in straight sets in the wheelchair tennis. The Rio gold medallist and two-times grand slam champion comfortably beat home hope Takashi Sanada 6-2, 6-1 in 62 mins. He’ll be back on court later for a men’s doubles quarter-final alongside Alfie Hewett.
Other athletics golds to be handed out in the next few hours …
- F64 men’s javelin
- F53 women’s discus
- T36 men’s long jump
- F11 men’s shot put
- T63 men’s 100m
- T64 men’s 100m
Fireworks have already ensued in the field as India’s Sumit Antil – a former wrestler – has launched the javelin to two world records with his first two attempts. His second was a superb 68.08m. Plenty of throwing still to be done there, but he currently leads by just shy of six metres.
What a start to the evening @ParaAthletics session 🤩
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
Sumit Antil throws a World Record on the first throw of the day, can anyone top that?#ParaAthletics #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/cLB5qHYQ61
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Greetings! Once again, barely time to catch breath among an absolutely stuffed programme.
The evening athletics is under way at the Olympic stadium, and the first of seven finals has just been decided, with No No No No No Not Russia’s Dmitrii Safronov taking gold in the T35 men’s 100m … and another world record – 11.39sec. Ukraine’s Ihor Tsvietov (11.47) and RPC’s Artem Kalashian (11.75) took silver and bronze, both setting PBs.
Right, my watch is over. Here’s Stuart Goodwin to take you through the next bit...
I look forward to these every day.
Searching for a video of Robinson’s incredible oratory, I came by this joy from 2016.
The whole school is here ready to support pupil Ellie Robinson in her Paralympic 50m fly heat. #GDSTSportmatters pic.twitter.com/0bSTgaSdVV
— NorthamptonHighSport (@NHS_Sport) September 9, 2016
GB men beat Australia men 70-69 in the basketball!
Norris misses! That’s a tremendous effort from GB and they finish top of Group B, the Group of Death!
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Men’s basketball: Norris of Australia goes for the three....
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Men’s basketball: GB are holding out! They still lead 70-69 with two seconds left!
Men’s basketball: GB are pushing Australia hard now! hey lead 70-69 with 61s remaining, and as is noted in commentary, however this ends, GB will take plenty of confidence into their quarter-final.
We’re seeking it out for you, but in the meantime please seek it out for yourselves.
“This is a story of triumph, this is not a story of defeat. What threatens to weaken you will not overcome you.
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) August 30, 2021
You will conquer.”
Bravo, @EllieRobinsonGB 👏#ImpossibleToIgnore pic.twitter.com/ImxK6zlXRt
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#TokyoParalympics ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TNUKk55bjU
— Andy Lapthorne (@lapstar11) August 30, 2021
Men’s basketball: Every time GB get close, Australia stamp on the gas and now lead 65-60 with 3.15 remaining.
Men’s basketball: Australia now lead GB 61-58, with 4.27 left in the final quarter.
Tai responds, saying they’re like her second family, and calls her friend “stubborn but in the best way possible”. She says she’s not going to cry again and doesn’t understand how Robinson’s parents are keeping it together – you and me both – and that because they always take her out for curry, she’s going to take them out as soon as she can. What a collection of people, what an inspiration.
Robinson’s mum now takes up the story, saying that her daughter found out she needed an operation too late and was told she didn’t have to compete but she insisted, so she’s not surprised to hear her speak as she did. Her dad talks about how proud he is of her and thanks Alice Tai, who mentioned how incredible a family they are and I’m not going to lie to you, I’m gone again.
The way she delivered her speech – because it was a speech not an interview – oof madone. “I am not finishing this way, it is not going to end this way. “The agony I’ve been in this year – it is a story of triumph, not a story of defeat ... I proved today, I am in control of when I finish.” Sensational.
If you’re near a telly, computer or phone, Ellie Robinson’s interview is on again. Get it on.
What an entrance this was!
Ten minutes to Ellie Robinson time!#Paralympics #ParaSwimming #Tokyo2020 @EllieRobinsonGB pic.twitter.com/9CzQSdiZvH
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
Men’s basketball: Australia stepped it up right at the end and with just the final quarter remaining, they lead GB 55-50.
Men’s basketball: With two minutes left in the third quarter, Australia lead GB 48-46.
GOLD! Zheng Tao of China wins the men's s5 50m backstroke destroying his own world record!
The mark improves from 32.48 to 31.42 – goodness me! – and it’s a China 1,2,3, Jingson Ruan taking silver and Lichao Wang bronze. Mullan comes seventh.
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Zheng Tao of China leads and he’s miles ahead of the world record mark!
Swimming: the men’s S5 50m backstroke final is upon us, Andrew Mullen going for GB.
GOLD! Michele George of Belgium wins the Grade V dressage individual freestyle test!
Frank Hosmar of Netherlands takes silver and Regine Mispelkamp of Germany bronze; Sophie Wells of GB is fourth.
Alice Tai, a gold medalist in Rio, is in the Channel 4 studio and notes that Robinson is a keen writer; if it matches her oratory, she’s going to be very very good. She also mentions that the physical difficulties Robinson is enduring have affected her mental health, which makes her achievement in getting to the line, never mind finishing fifth, even more spectacular.
Equestrian: Sophie Wells scores 73.449 and slots into bronze-medal position with one competitor to go, Michele George of Belgium.
Yes, exactly: Clare Balding says we need to take a breath and she’s right, we do.
Ah man, that was incredible. If you watched that, you’re going to need a moment; if you didn’t watch that, you’re going to need to take a moment so to do.
Robinson tells Channel 4 that she was diagnosed with Perthes’ disease in 2012 and last year it caused her a load of discomfort. Last year, things would’ve been different for her, but with lockdown, the extra wait for the Games and the changed training, things were too much. As such, she swam no butterfly for ahes and thought she’d be more upset than she is, but she still came fifth and last year was so hard for her, a really low point in her life, and though she’s trying not to get emotional, she’s overcome with what she’s been through, and always said that if she had to crawl to the blocks on her hands and knees she’d do it. She did it.
“This is a story of triumph,” she says. “I’m so proud of myself for getting this far ... I am in control ... I proved to myself that I can overcome challenge ... sorry for the monologue.”
Not at all, this is fantastic – what a human being Robinson is, the ability to be so honest, candid and powerful at a time of such high emotion. Anyhow, she thanks her parents, relating a story of her dad driving her past the pool at which she got spotted and breaking down, but she’s so proud of everything she’s done, happy to end things on her own terms. Today is her 20th birthday.
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GOLD! Yuyan Jiang of China wins the women's S6 50m butterfly!
Nicole Turner of Ireland takes silver and Elizabeth Marks of USA the bronze. Robinson is fifth.
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Jiang is going to win and Turner of Ireland comes past Robinson too!
Robinson leads by Jiang leads and she’s in front!
And they take their marks ... and they’re off.
Swimming: Ellie Robinson, the defending champion, is imminent in the S6 butterfly final; Jiang Yuang of China broke her world record this morning, so this should be special...
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Frank Hosmar of Netherlands now leads in the Grade V equestrian with a score of 79.425; three competitors remaining, one of them Sophie Wells of GB.
Earlier today, a thriller on the range...
In just over 10 minutes from now, GB’s Ellie Robinson goes in the women’s S6 50m butterfly final. She won a gold and a bronze in Rio, breaking the world and Paralympic record at the age of just 15, and today is her 20th birthday!
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What an incredible Monday for #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 at the #Paralympics 🔥
— Twitter Marketing IN (@TwitterMktgIN) August 30, 2021
🥇 Avani Lekhara
🥈 Yogesh Kathuniya
🥈 Devendra Jhajharia
🥉 Sundar Singh Gurjar
You have made the entire country proud! #Praise4Para #Tokyo2020
Grade V of the equestrian is underway, and we’ll soon see Sophie Wells of GB go on Don Cara. Currently, Natalia Martianova of ROC leads.
We’re watching VT with Ellie Challis, the youngest member of Team GB. She’s a quadruple amputee who won silver in the S3 women’s 50m backstroke and goes in the 100m later on today.
In the men’s wheelchair basketball, we’ve got a Guardian derby underway. Currently, Australia lead GB 22-11, with 2.20 remaining in the first quarter. GB are currently 4 and 3, while Australia are 3 and 1; both are set to qualify for the knockouts, Australia top of the pool if they win this and GB fourth.
GOLD! Hannah Aspden of USA wins the women's S9 100m backstroke!
Marques Soto of Spain takes silver and Pascoe of NZ bronze; Millward finishes eighth.
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Pascoe of NZ leads at the turn but Aspden of USA slithers past her and looks strong as we reach the finish!
It’s the women’s S9 final now – the athletes have either joint restrictions in one leg or double below-the-knee amputations. Stephanie Millward goes for GB...
GOLD! Shchalkanau of ROC wins the men's S9 100m backstroke!
He powers through the final 10m, leaving Shchalkanau of Belarus to take silver and Hodge of Australia to take bronze! That was a great race, the winning time of 1:10.65 a Paralympic record
But Mozgovoi comes through the middle and Shchalkanau of Belarus does too! This is going to be a finish!
And they’re off, in a pretty even break too; Barlaam of Italy leads from Hodge of Australia at the turn...
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The men’s S9 100m backstroke is next, with Bogdan Mozgovoi of Not Russia, the world record holder, going in lane five.
GOLD! Mallory Weggemann of USA wins the women's S7 100m backstroke!
Dorris of Canada takes silver and Gaffney of USA bronze. Weggemann came from behind and took a tight finish by about half a metre.
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Julia Gaffney of USA leads, but Danielle Dorris of Canada hits the front with 25m to go!
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Right, time for the women’s 100m backstroke S7 final, S7 meaning one leg and one arm amputated on either side, or a paralysed arm and leg on both sides.
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Ah, excellent – we cut to the pool and we’ve got a serious programme for the evening sesh, including GB’s Ellie Robinson in the S6 50m butterfly.
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News from Reuters:
“Japan has closed a school in the eastern city of Chiba for the rest of this week, after confirming Covid-19 infections in two teachers who accompanied students to watch the Paralympic Games, a city official said on Monday.
The two were among six teachers of the Kaizuka Junior High School who had tested positive for the disease by Sunday, said the official of the city’s education board, after a trip with 18 students in two buses to last Wednesday’s goalball event.
The Paralympics are set to run from 24 August 24 to 5 September, mostly without spectators, since much of Japan, including Chiba and the Games host city of Tokyo, are under a state of emergency, aiming to rein in the disease.
But organisers have invited municipal authorities to have school children attend events, as long as they follow safety measures and receive caregivers’ consent.”
Earlier today...
Japan have beaten Turkey 67-55 in Group A of the men’s wheelchair basketball.
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Ah man, we now chat to Maisie, an amputee who Jonnie’s inspired – a young swimmer – and Harvey – a young runner who plans to beat Jonnie. Great stuff.
On Channel 4, we’re watching VT with Jonnie Peacock – Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016, – who says sport made him feel like he wasn’t an amputee. He took to athletics in the most ridiculous fashion, just running PBs in every race, and it took his coach to tell him it wasn’t normal. He says Rio was harder than London and he expects Tokyo to be harder gain; he goes at 12.43 BST, and of course we’ll bring that to you.
While we wait for that, let’s remember yesterday’s fun...
In the pool, though, we’ve got 15 finals coming up, and that situation begins in just 22 minutes...
Our next athletics sesh starts at 7pm local which is 11am BST, and there are seven golds up for grabs, including the men’s 100m T63 and T64, the latter of those featuring GB’s Jonnie Peacock.
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Currently, I’m watching Turkey v Japan in the men’s wheelchair basketball, which Japan lead 22-21 with 4.50 remaining in the second quarter.
Thanks Emma and hi everyone – there’s a lot going on, which I’ll run down for you presently.
I’m going to hand you over to my colleague Daniel Harris, who will take you through the next few hours of action at the pool, the track and elsewhere!
Swimming: The Australian silver-medal winning women’s relay team will receive their medals 24 hours later than expected after a controversial final. Ellie Cole, Isabella Vincent, Emily Beecroft and Ashleigh McConnell initially finished third in Sunday night’s 4x100m freestyle final behind the United States and Italy.
But the Americans and fourth-placed British were disqualified soon afterwards for illegal changeovers, meaning Canada were awarded the bronze after touching the wall in fifth place at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
After the race referee denied a protest, an appeal was lodged and this was also unsuccessful. But the protest meant the medal presentation was delayed until Monday night’s finals session.
It is Cole’s first medal at the Tokyo Games and she joins fellow swimmer Priya Cooper on 16, the most won by an Australian woman at the Paralympics. Cole has won six gold, five silver and five bronze in four Paralympics.
Wheelchair tennis: The heat has again forced delays but Brit Andy Lapthorne is in action and has lost the first set 6-4 to Dutchman Niels Vink. The second set is under way.
Women’s goalball: Australia’s Belles will have been closely watching China’s final Group C match against Canada in the knowledge that a win for first-placed China over last-placed Canada would ensure their progression to the quarter-finals. It has come to pass, and Canada’s 4-2 loss means Australia are in the last eight for the first time in their Paralympics history.
The Belles beat Canada 4-3 on Saturday – their first Paralympics win since 1996 – and then the Russian Paralympic Committee 4-1 on Sunday.
Powerlifting: In a recap from earlier for those waking up in Blighty, Louise Sugden won bronze in the women’s -86kg division. The former wheelchair basketballer’s best lift of 131kg was the same as fourth-placed Egyptian Amany Ali, but the 37-year-old took the podium place due to being more than 1kg lighter than her rival.
Nigeria’s Folashade Oluwafemiayo, who lifted 151kg, won gold and China’s Zheng Feifei managed 139kg for silver.
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Goalball: The US men have been well accounted for by Lithuania, whose dominance only increased throughout the 13-3 result.
Boccia: It hasn’t been a good day at the office for British athletes, with Stephen McGuire, Claire Taggart and Will Hipwell all suffering heavy pool losses. McGuire went down 6-0 to Colombia’s Euclides Grisales while Taggart and Hipwell both lost 8-1, to Brazilian Maciel Santos and Belgian Francis Rombouts respectively.
It was, however, a very good day for Canadian Danik Allard, who had the biggest win of the day’s first session with a 12-1 victory over Russian Diana Tsyplina.
For some wider context as these Games are taking place, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has criticised the country’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga saying he has ignored a growing Covid-19 surge and public concerns about the pandemic.
On his radio show, Murakami referenced a comment made by Suga just before the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics last month, when he claimed “an exit is now in our sight after a long tunnel”. Since the games began, daily cases have risen almost five times nationwide and more than tripled in Tokyo.
“If he really saw an exit, his eyes must be extremely good for his age. I’m of the same age as Mr Suga, but I don’t see any exit at all,” said Murakami, 72. “He doesn’t listen to others, and perhaps he only has eyes that see well, or he sees only what he wants to see.”
Suga has faced criticism for holding the Olympics and Paralympics despite widespread health concerns and public protests. Last week he expanded emergency Covid-19 measures to cover about three-quarters of Japan.
Athletes are still feeling the heat in Tokyo, where it’s 33 degrees celsius with 69% humidity. Such conditions would be felt by the entire field, though I wonder if some variables, such as particular sports or disciplines, coupled with the type and severity of impairment, might affect athletes’ susceptibility?
Archery gold for Great Britain!
Nope, I am not British, the exclamation mark is just for effect. Phoebe Paterson Pine has done it in the women’s individual compound open. It wasn’t her highest score of the day, and Chilean Mariana Zúñiga Varela pushed her all way before eventually finishing 134-133. Pine had one miss in the first set, one perfect 10 in the fourth, and a smattering of nines and eights.
Men’s wheelchair basketball: Germany have emerged victorious from a tight preliminary against Iran. Score was 56-53, which means that’s the end of the road for Iran, who finished their Group B matches with a 1-4 record having beaten Algeria but lost to Australia, the US and Britain before this one.
The top four of the six teams in each group will qualify for the next stage. Australia are second behind Germany with four matches played.
China win shooting gold
Extraordinary focus from Dong Chao in the men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1. He defends his Rio 2016 – and London 2012 – title with a Paralympic-record score of 246.4 that only just pips the 245.1 from Ukraine’s silver medallist Andrii Doroshenko. Park Jinho of Korea claims bronze with 224.5.
China’s medal tally is going through the roof.
Javelin world record for Sri Lanka
Dinesh Priyan Herath Mudiyanselage has taken the men’s F46 javelin world record and tore it a new one, throwing 67.79 to better the old mark by almost 4m.
To put that into perspective, Indian silver medallist Devendra set the old world record of 63.97 back in 2016 and would have set a new one himself with his 64.35m at the Olympic Stadium just now, but had no chance against his competition. Compatriot Sundar Singh Gurjar secured bronze with 64.01.m.
It is full-time in the football at the Aomi Urban Sports Park and it’s a romp for the Brazilians, who beat Japan 4-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals and lay down a bit of a marker.
While the second half actually saw the Japanese assert themselves a little more in the match, decisive finishing and a semi-blunder from goalkeeper Daisuke Sato meant the Brazilians added three goals to their first-half tally.
Parana scored the second and the best of the day. Dribbling is one of the best parts of the game to watch as the visually impaired players have such great close control. Parana beat all four Japanese defenders here on a run that started at halfway, before picking his shot and firing low to Sato’s right.
Ricardinho, the Brazilian No 10, scored the third when nothing much looked on. Drifting across the edge of the box with defenders in attendance he managed to create enough room to get off a shot. It had power but was blocked by Sato, only for the ball to ricochet off the keeper, under his body and into the net.
Ricardinho doubled up in the final minute off the back of a set piece routine. When free kicks are taken coaches are allowed to clang a metal rod against the frame of the goal and issue directions so that players can aim for a direct strike. Despite all that, Brazil took all their set pieces short and here Ricardinho drifted in from the right before cutting back and getting off a quick shot that took a slight deflection and flew past Sato.
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Avani Lekhara’s shooting gold is a big deal for India. The 19-year-old law student from Jaipur is the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal and the fourth male or female after Murlikant Petkar (swimming), Devendra Jhajharia (javelin throw) and Mariyappan Thangavelu (javelin throw).
She is the first Indian to win a medal in shooting at the Paralympics and the third Indian woman to stand on the podium in any sport after Deepa Malik (shot put, 2016) and Bhavinaben Patel (table tennis), who both won silver.
To recap, her total of 249.6 on Monday also equalled the world record and set a Paralympic record. China’s Zhang Cuiping (248.9) claimed silver and Ukraine’s Iryna Schetnik (248.9) bronze.
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Table tennis gold for van Zon
Mondays be like ...
Yesss! We think Kelly van Zon is happy about that #Gold #TableTennis @Paralympisch @TeamNLtweets @ittfworld #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/9QFSM6d7zP
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 30, 2021
Kelly van Zon has just defended her women’s class 7 singles title a second time, coming back from two games down to defeat Russian Viktoriia Safonov 3-2. The 33-year-old now has golds in this event at three consecutive Paralympics.
Hello! How are we all? Where are you heads at today? Mine is in the wheelchair basketball, waiting for Australia to play Great Britain at 5.15pm local time. Bit of time before then, though, so let’s hop around.
With that, my time here has come to an end. I shall sail into the West with my friends the Elves. Emma Kemp will stay behind on these mortal shores, and be with you next.
World record in the shot put
They’re falling like ninepins. I don’t know what a ninepin is, that’s one sport I haven’t had time to research. In the women’s F54 seated shot put the new mark goes to Chile’s Francisca Mardones Sepulveda. The old mark belonged to her too, but she throws 8.33m today for gold.
Silver for Mexico, and Gloria Zarza Guadarrama. Bronze for Uzbekistan’s Nurkhon Kurbanova.
It’s half time in the five a side between hosts Japan and favourites Brazil, and it’s the Seleçao who are 1-0 up. In all honesty it’s been one way traffic on a six lane highway so far with Brazil creating numerous chances.
The only goal came after 5 minutes and was scored by Raimundo with a typically impudent Brazilian finish. Faced by two Japanese players on the right hand side, a sharp burst of acceleration took him past both and a quick shot with the outside of the right foot caught the keeper unawares as it flew into the far corner.
While the four outfield players must wear blindfolds, keepers can be fully-sighted in this visually-impaired sport. Daisuke Sato has pulled off a number of saves, particularly in a four minute cameo from Jardiel. The number 6 got four shots off, including one sharp effort low to Sato’s left. It came at the end of a beautiful waltz right through the heart of the Japanese defence with excellent close control.
Jefinho, the Brazil number 7 and the guy known as the Blind Pele, has been relatively quiet in his stint as a substitute, but in drawing defenders to him he’s been switching play effectively.
Gold for Sri Lanka, silver and bronze for India
Javelin: It’s a subcontinental sweep, as Devendra throws 61.23 and can’t pass Mudiyanselage. And in a lovely moment, the Indian athlete runs straight over to the Sri Lankan and throws his arms around him. Genuine congratulations.
Mudiyanselage doesn’t take his final throw. No need. He has a world record and a gold medal. He is given a Sri Lankan flag, and instead of running around with it right away, he spreads it out on the track and kneels in front of it, bowing his head to the ground.
Sri Lanka’s first medal of these Games is gold.
Javelin: Last chance for Guillermo Varona Gonzalez of Cuba. An athlete throwing with his left arm, missing his right hand. He shouts a battle cry at the top of his run to motivate himself. Screams his javelin into the sky. It’s good! Well past 60 metres... but how far? 61.86. It won’t be enough. He stays in fourth.
Sundar Singh Gurjar bails out on his throw, and has time to go back and try again. Still can’t get his runup the second time. He’s got the Steve Harmisons. This time he overshoots the front line and the flag goes up. That’s his day done, with a bronze medal round his neck. But he’ll be left wondering what might have happened had he got that last throw away.
Archery: Phoebe Paterson Pine, the Triple P, the triple threat, has won her quarter final against Julie Chupin in the women’s individual compound. The last time the British beat the French in the archery was the Battle of Crécy.
Mongoldia!
Sodnompiljee Enkhbayar does indeed win the powerlifting final in the men’s -107kg division. He lifted 241, then 245, then tried to break his own world record of 247 from 2019. Didn’t succeed, but he’s still eight kilos clear of his nearest opponent.
Silver goes to Malaysia! Their second medal of the games, after a gold that also came in powerlifting. Yee Khie Jong is the medallist here with 237 kilograms. Bronze, Razi Saman of Iran with 231.
Javelin: Not great rhythm for Devendra’s fifth throw, and he deliberately oversteps after watching the javelin in the air for a while, as if to stay that a 55-ish metre score isn’t even worth recording on his sheet. Mudiyanselage also gets flagged for his fifth throw. One more each!
Javelin: Sundar Singh Gurjar has just broken the old world record as well, throwing 64.01m to push the Cuban Gonzalez into fourth place. So two Indian throwers and one Sri Lankan have beaten Devendra’s previous world mark today, and Gonzalez will need to do the same to get back into the medals.
Gold for India in the air rifle
Avani Lekhara wins in the women’s 10m standing SH1. Hard not to, with a world record performance, though that hasn’t helped some other athletes including her compatriot right now in the javelin.
She takes gold ahead of Zhang Cuiping (China) and Iryna Shchetnik (Ukraine).
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Football: Speaking of Brazil, they lead Japan 1-0 in the men’s 5-a-side. First half. A win means guaranteed qualification for either side.
Gold for Brazil in the discus
If any Indian fans need cheering up, you’ve held on for a silver medal in the men’s F56. Our friend dos Santos does set a new Games record with his final throw, for 45.59m, but he was already past Yogesh Kathuniya in second. Bronze goes to Cuba, congrats to Leonardo Diaz Aldana.
Shooting: Indian Games fans - Avani Lekhara has just equalled the world record in the 10m air rifle, shooting 249.6. Some competitors haven’t finished yet, but let’s just bookmark that...
Discus: Things are hotting up in the F56. Claudiney Batista dos Santos has stepped up for Brazil and overthrown (in a literal sense) Yogesh Kathuniya. The new gold throw is 45.25, and dos Santos also owns a world record more than a metre beyond that. Yogesh drops to silver, and can’t make up ground - in discus three athletes at a time have all their throws at once, then we move onto the next group.
Speaking of powerlifting, the second-biggest big boys are out on the bench. These are the -107kg lifters, not to be confused with the +107kg lifters, who can be any size from 107 up to The Fleshlumpeater. And in some cases, would be able to bench the Fleshlumpeater.
Today’s entrants are more in the BFG range, perhaps. Mongolia is a mile in the lead, with Sodnompiljee Enkhbayar having pumped 241 kegs worth of iron. His nearest competitors have done 220 and 218. The bottom of the table is finishing up on second lifts.
For fans of firearm work, even without involving fire, the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 final is supposed to have started. I haven’t seen any news from the range. This is another event that isn’t being televised, at least not anywhere I can access it. Not sure if that’s a Channel 7 thing or an IOC thing. Powerlifting and archery are others where there’s been no stream offered. Cheers.
I tell you what, I’m going to hear that choral Tokyo music in my dreams. I will wake up as an old man years from now thinking that I’m back here. There is always a medal ceremony going on in the background somewhere. Aaaaah-ah-ah-aaaaah-ah-ah-aaaaah...
Shot put: That is Uzbekistani gold medal No5 (a lesser known Lou Vega tune). Bobirjon Omonov wins it in the F41, which is the short stature category. He thumps out a shot put 14.06 metres for a new Games record, while Hagan Landry gets a regional record and a silver medal for the USA. Germany’s Niko Kappel wins bronze.
Gold for Iran in the long jump
Amir Khosravani has the medal in his grasp before taking his last jump, but still gives it a go to land 6.91. He set the early standard with 7.21 on his second jump, and no one caught him.
Long jump: Leinier Savon Pineda is in third place... and he leaps into silver! He jumps 7.16 on his final attempt for the day, a regional record for the Cuban, and five centimetres from the gold.
Said Najafzade has one chance to take the silver back for Azerbaijan, but can’t do it. His day’s best was 7.03, and he wins bronze.
Long jump: Siarhei Burdukou stays in sixth, the Belarussian never bettering his first jump of 6.74.
Kamil Aliyev did best on his fifth jump, and nearly tops his 6.89 but not quite on the sixth. Azerbaijan stays fifth.
Doniyor Saliev (Uzbekistan) stays in fourth, can’t top his earlier 6.92.
Long jump: A couple of the T12 jumpers have finished their day early. The Cuban Angel Jimenez Cabeza injured his leg during an earlier jump and hobbled off. Didn’t see what happened with Germany’s Marcel Boettger, but he was coming last after three jumps and hasn’t gone since. The remaining athletes start their sixth and final jumps. First, the two Swedes, who don’t improve their position at the current bottom of the standings.
Men's 100 metre silver for Australia
Rheed McCracken wins his third silver medal in this event across the last three Paralympic Games. Extraordinary record in the T34 wheelchair sprint. The gold is taken in a new Games record by Tunisia, with Walid Ktila speeding through in 15.01. McCracken was on his hammer throughout but couldn’t catch up. Mohammed Alhammadi wins bronze for the UAE.
Football: China score with three minutes left! The French keeper Allesandro Bartolomucci has been outstanding all game. He has made several top-class saves, and picked out his players cleverly for distribution, while the deadlock 0-0 has continued. But right near the end, there’s a restart with the French wall in place. Bartolomucci is unsighted briefly as one of his defenders drifts across him, and Zhu Ruiming unleashes a powerful shot right at the goalkeeeper’s face. His attempted save is reflex, saving himself as much as the goal, and he gets gloves to it but the ricochet takes it into the net.
Frederic Villeroux weaves through the Chinese defence to shoot with 30 seconds left, but can’t get enough on the shot. China win 1-0. They sit third in their group behind Japan and Brazil, who play one another later today.
100m gold for Andrew Small, bronze for Harri Jenkins
Great Britain’s wheelchair racer gets it done in the T33 final. His wheel is bobbling in the last few strokes as Ahmad Almutairi of Kuwait closes on him. But Small hangs on, and Harri Jenkins crosses the line in third.
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Discus: In the men’s F56 seated competition, India’s Yogesh Kathuniya has had a lot of foul throws, but has also clocked the three biggest of the competition so far. Three athletes done, five to go, and the leading mark is 44.38 metres, a couple of metres short of the world record.
Long jump: Three jumps apiece in the T12, and Iran’s Khosravani still leads. Azerbaijan second, Uzbekistan third.
Football: Still 0-0 in the 5-a-side between China and France.
Archery: Stretton shoots a 10 first up. Paterson Pine matches it. Hard for Stretton to come back from here. She shoots nine, then a ten. Paterson Pine shoots nine, then nine. So Stretton wins the set. But that makes it 2-2, and I think that means PPP takes the match on overall standings by a single point. 140 to 141. Neither archer shot less than a nine all match.
Mind you, there has been some phenomenal shooting so far in Tokyo’s morning. France’s Julie Chupin set a Games record with 145 earlier, only for Italy’s Elonora Sarti to shoot 146 in the very next match. Nice while it lasted, Julie.
Archery: Nines to start the fourth set, once, twice. Stretton hits double figures with her last arrow! Paterson Pine must respond... and does! Set tied, 28-28. One to go. Overall score 111-113 in favour of PPP.
Long jump: Iran’s Amir Khosravani hits the front with a jump of 7.21 metres.
Archery: Swinging back the other way again. Stretton is the one to shoot nines, while Paterson Pine hits the middle twice for 27-29.
Archery: The second set goes 28-27 to Stretton. Paterson Pine shoots all nines.
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Archery: Pretty rough for the two British archers to be drawn against each other in the 1/8 elimination final. Given it’s a competition with the focus on nations rather than individuals, that does seem like something that could be avoided. But do I know the complexities of archery seeding and draws? No.
Any rate. Phoebe Paterson Pine wins the first set with a couple of 10s, Jessica Stretton shooting 9-10-9 to cede it 28-29.
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Long jump: The early lead goes to Azerbaijan - Said Najafzade jumps 7.00 with his first attempt to set a mark. Six jumps per athlete today.
Gold and a world record for Mexico in the 1500 metres
The women’s 1500 T11 race is dominated by Monica Rodrigues Saavedra. She and her sighted guide get out in front and stay there, and Kevin Aguilar Perez keeps checking back to let her know if they need to push on when someone tries to challenge. The South African Louzanne Coetzee does try to close the gap on the final lap, but it’s already out to a dozen metres or so, and Rodrigues Saavedra extends it to 20 with her final reserves. Nancy Chelangat Koech comes in third for Kenya.
Athletics: The men’s long jump (T12) and discus (F46) finals have started, but those competitions will take a long time. Stand by.
Football: Half time in the morning’s first five-a-side match, in which China and France are both yet to score.
Some pretty special lines from the Australian distance runner and silver medallist.
This is a bit cute. Knock if off, you two.
Before we plough in to today, you might want to take a minute to absorb the images of yesterday.
Preamble
Hello, welcome to day six of these Tokyo Paralympic Games. Thirteen sports to enjoy today, with medals up for grabs in seven of them. Before we crack on, here are a few highlights coming our way, courtesy of my colleague Martin Belam.
All events are listed here in local Tokyo time. Add an hour for Sydney, subtract eight hours for Bangor, 13 hours for New York and 16 hours for San Francisco.
- 8.30am Shooting – It is the first day of shooting, which starts with qualifications for the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle SH1 class. By 11am the women’s contest reaches the final stage, with the men shooting for their gold medal at 1.15pm. The session is completed with a third gold medal on offer in the mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 contest. In the SH2 class athletes have impairments that mean they can’t support the weight of the rifle, so use a shooting stand. China dominated the shooting overall in Rio in 2016, but the Slovakian pair of Radoslav Malenovsky and Veronika Vadovicova come into Monday’s SH1 events in a strong position. He won the 2018 world championship and she is defending her title in an event she also won in Beijing in 2008 🥇
- 9am and 5.30pm Archery – quite early on there is a clash of the Britons, as Jessica Stretton and Phoebe Patterson Pine have been drawn against each other in the quarter-finals in the women’s individual compound contest. They’ll be on at 9.51am. The final is at 1.36pm. The evening session is the men’s individual compound, and that climaxes with the gold medal shootout at 8.42pm 🥇
- 9.30am and 7pm Athletics – another two sessions and 15 gold medals on offer in all. The pick of the bunch is the men’s 100m finals in the T63 and T64 classes from 8.33pm, and that’s mirrored earlier with the men’s 100m finals in the T33 and T34 classes at 10.33am 🥇
- 9am and 4pm Equestrian – it is the final day in the Equestrian Park for these Paralympic Games. The medals have been widely spread among the nations taking so part so far. The final session runs for over five hours and sees every grade from one to five do their individual freestyle test, so there’s plenty of chance to enjoy one last day of equestrian action in Tokyo 🐴🥇
- 9am Football 5-a-side – there’s another four group games today, with one of Brazil or Japan guaranteeing themselves a semi-final spot if they can beat the other when they meet at 11.30am.
- 11am and 5pm Wheelchair tennis – there’s quite a mixed order of play for Monday, with some second round matches in the women’s singles, the men’s singles has third round matches, and the quad singles and men’s doubles are at the quarter-final stages.
- 5pm Swimming – the evening swimming session features fifteen gold medal races, including the 200m individual medley races for both genders in the SM11 and SM13 classes, and finishing with the men’s 4x100m freestyle 34 points relay 🥇
