And that’s it for another day. Some fantastic action again and we’ll be back tomorrow to see more history made. Will Bayley’s semi-final is tomorrow by the way. Thanks for reading and I’ll leave you with the current medal table.
Table tennis: The all-action Will Bayley assures himself of a medal after a 3-0 victory over Germany’s Bjoern Schnake. He wins 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 in 26 minutes. A great watch. The GB star is full of energy, bounding around and constantly letting out victory cries on each point. A medal is coming his way but what colour will it be?
Table tennis: It’s been an entertaining contest but Will Bayley looks to have the measure of his German opponent and takes Game 2 11-8 to go 2-0 up. He’s closing in on a medal.
Table tennis: Will Bayley survived game point in the opener to win it 13-11 and he’s 8-6 up in Game 2. Remember, victory here will assure him of a medal.
Silver medal for GB's Natasha Baker
Equestrian: It’s confirmed - another medal for Great Britain and it’s silver for Natasha Baker! A superb performance on Keystone Dawn Chorus sees her finish behind gold medal winner Tobias Jorgensen of Denmark. Rixt van der Horst (appropriate name) takes bronze.
Table tennis: One of ParalympicsGB’s most familiar faces, Will Bayley, is currently in quarter-final action. The Strictly star wants a gold medal here in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym and is taking on Bjoern Schnake but German has game point in the opener.
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Equestrian: We’re nearly done but there’s going to be one final GB medal today as Natasha Baker sits in silver medal position with just one rider remaining. Watch this space!
Athletics: Result in from the Women’s seated discus and it’s joy for Poland as a world-record throw of 28.74 from Roza Kozakowska seals victory. Ukraine’s Anastasia Moskalenko takes silver and Algeria’s Mounia Gasmi the bronze.
Athletics: There was disappointment for David Weir in his 5000m T54 heat earlier. It just didn’t happen for the Weir Wolf today as the six-time Paralympics gold medal winner failed to make the top three. Disappointing, but he tweeted this yesterday and still has other events to come.
What ever happens at these Paralympics I’m proud of myself to get to my 6th games, in all the years of racing I’ve never been proud of my achievements until now. 🇬🇧 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥈🥈🥉🥉 pic.twitter.com/urJNgm43cu
— David Weir CBE #weirwolf (@davidweir2012) August 26, 2021
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Table Tennis: Victory for Australia’s Samuel von Einem over Spain’s Eduardo Cuesta Martinez in their quarter-final clash at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym. Von Einem drops the opening game but hits back to win 3-1.
Extreme heat delays wheelchair tennis: A report from our man in Tokyo.
“There was a new record at the Paralympic Games on Friday, but one organisers would rather not have been set, after play was suspended due to extreme heat.
“The opening day of competition in wheelchair tennis was set to begin at 11am on a sweltering day in Tokyo but matches on uncovered outside courts at the Ariake Tennis Centre had to be rescheduled after wet globe bulb temperatures (WGBT), which measure humidity as well as heat, exceeded limits set for athletes’ safety.
“The suspension was the first of its kind after safeguards were drawn up by the International Tennis Federation, who operate the tennis events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, ahead of Tokyo 2020.”
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Athletics: In the men’s seated shot put, it’s gold for Brazil’s Wallace Santos with a world record throw of 12.63. Ruzhdi Ruzhdi (so good they named him twice) takes silver for Bulgaria while Poland’s Lech Stolteman bags bronze.
Thanks Geoff. A few things still to keep an eye out for as the evening comes to a close. Stay tuned!
The recap, as of 9pm Tokyo time
Phew. Quite the night.
- A rush of medals for Great Britain in the pool, they’re having a fun time. Two gold, one silver, two bronze.
- Two bronze medals for Australia’s women in the pool as well.
- Another Ihar Boki masterclass, and a title defence by Wen Xiaoyian.
- A popular and emotional New Zealand swimming gold, in a Tokyo first.
- An Azerbaijani medal rush across sports.
- Another winning night for China in swimming, fencing, and lifting.
- Team USA’s late win after a huge comeback against GB in chair rugby.
They pack a lot in to one evening of the Games. That’s enough for me, I’ll be here next on Tuesday. David Tindall will be your company for now.
Table tennis: Australia’s Ma Lin smashes through his Class 9 quarterfinal in straight sets, while Great Britain’s Joshua Stacey loses a five-setter after leading 2-1 after three.
Equestrian: Keep an eye on Great Britain’s Natasha Baker, she’s just gone top of the Grade III dressage riding Keystone Dawn Chorus. Still seven riders to come but she’s given herself a chance. Australia’s Emma Booth is out of the running in seventh.
Long jump: Gold for Di Dongdong in the men’s T11! No one improves on their best jump when they go for their sixth and final, but Di soars gracefully with the last jump of the night to go well past six metres for a final exclamation mark on his night. That final jump gets a red flag, but his night’s best was 6.47 and that gets him gold.
USA silver for Lex Gillette, an amazing name that sounds like a 70s action hero. And bronze for Ronan Pallier of France.
Wheelchair basketball: And in the East Asia derby, Japan lead Korea 14-9 in the men’s b-ball game.
Wheelchair basketball: In the meantime, Great Britain women are off to a shocker against Germany, down 7-18 in the first quarter.
Wheelchair rugby: New Zealand got knocked around by the USA in game one, now they’re getting done by Canada in game two. It’s 28-19 to the north of the north in the third quarter.
Athletics: Some very long events are moving along gradually, with athletes allowed six throws or jumps. Brazil currently leads the men’s seated shot put, Ukraine the women’s seated discus/club, and China the men’s long jump for the T11 visually impaired category.
Table tennis: Another Great Britain result, with Paul Karabardak winning his quarterfinal in the men’s Class 6 singles.
Men’s 400 metres: A home gold on the athletics track for Sato Tomoki in the men’s 400m T52 race. And a Games record to boot, running 55.39. Japanese bronze as well, from Ueyonabaru Hirokazu, either side of Raymond Martin with a USA silver.
Wheelchair fencing: Russia win gold in the men’s épée team competition, beating China, plus bronze in the women’s. China win gold in the women’s, beating Ukraine.
Powerlifting: Another Chinese gold with Liu Lei lifting 198kg in the men’s -65kg division. Amir Jafari Arangeh (Iran) takes silver, Hocine Better (Algeria) bronze.
Men’s 100 metres: The T47 category follows immediately, with a Brazilian gold-bronze double. Petrucio Ferreira dos Santos wins, outside his own world record time of 10.53, with Washington Junior third. Between them is Michal Derus of Poland.
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Men’s 100 metres: On the athletics track, gold for USA’s Nick Mayhugh in the T37 category, shaving a couple of hundredths off his own world record to run it in 10.95 seconds.
Andrei Vdovin (Russia) silver, Saptoyoga Purnomo (Indonesia) bronze.
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One last Australian medal in the pool
Swimming: The last event for the night in the pool is the women’s 400m S13. Australia’s Katja Dedekind leading into the second lap, but she probably won’t have the gas to sustain that pace. Italy’s Carlotta Gilli is up to the front by the 150 mark. Then Ukraine’s Anna Stetsenko comes up to Gilli after the 200.
They turn into the last 100 neck and neck. Stetsenko kicks away up to the 350, then drives to the wall almost uncontested in the end. Her fourth Games gold, after three in Rio. Gilli silver, and Dedekind manages to hang on for bronze, a brave swim from the young Australian. Her second bronze.
Ihar Boki does it again
Swimming: His Paralympic record now stands at 14 gold, one silver, one bronze. His third gold in Tokyo. Holds the world record in the men’s 400m S13, the category for partial visual impairment. Doesn’t break that record today, but doesn’t need to, shaking off the two swimmers either side of him in the last 50 metres to win by the length of the straight.
All of Belarus’ medals at Tokyo so far have come from Boki. Kyrylo Garashchenko wins silver for Ukraine, Alex Portal bronze for France.
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On the medal tally, China is out to 17 gold ahead of Great Britain’s 9, then Australia and the Russians on 7.
Bronze for the Great Britain wheelchair fencing team
They get the job done, 45-38 over Ukraine. Second medal at these games for Piers Gilliver and Dmitri Coutya, after their individual successes. Oliver Lam-Watson was the third fencer, who struggled in his bouts, but the other two won handily enough to offset that and get a team bronze.
A golden double for Wen Xiaoyan
Women’s 200m final: Over to the track, and the women’s 200m T37. She won gold in Rio, now she backs that up here. Jiang Fenfen comes up to take silver in a Chinese one-two, both of them passing France’s Mandy Francois-Elie who set the early pace but was running in gumboots for the final 40 metres.
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Table tennis: Australia’s Rebecca Julian has lost her quarterfinal in the Class 6 singles to Maliak Alieva of Russia. Gave it her all. Well played.
Swimming: Tiffany Thomas Kane surges home to take bronze for Australia in the 200m individual medley SM7. Danielle Dorris was clear in second place halfway through the freestyle lap, but it’s the Canadian’s weakest stroke. She trailed Mallory Weggeman, then got overtaken by Ahalya Lettenberger, the two Americans taking gold and silver. Then right on the wall, Dorris is outstretched by Thomas Kane who snatches bronze.
Swimming: It’s a Chinese goldslide in the 50m butterfly S5. Two gold, one silver, two bronze across the men’s and women’s races. These are the athletes who have no use of their arms, making their swimming style a true feat.
Zheng Tao, Wang Lichao, and Yuan Weiyi take out the men’s triple, with Zheng demolishing a world record in the process by more than two tenths of a second - extraordinary over 50 metres.
Lu Dong wins the women’s race, Cheng Jiao third, with only Spain’s Marta Fernandez Infante able to break up the monopoly.
Israel’s Mark Malyar wins the men’s 200m individual medley SM7, Andrii Trusov silver for Ukraine, Carlos Serrano Zarate bronze for Colombia.
Judo: Gold for Cherine Abdellaoui in the women’s -52kg final, Algeria’s first medal of the Games. Silver for Canada’s Priscilla Gagne.
The two bronze medals in the men’s -66kg go to Japan’s Seto Yujiro and Azerbaijan (again!) with Namig Abasli. The gold goes to Uzbekistan, with Uchkun Kuranbaev beating Spain’s Sergio Ibanez Banon.
Equestrian: In the Grade I dressage, gold for the USA’s Roxanne Trunnell. Latvia gets silver via Rihards Snikus, and Italy’s Sara Morganti takes bronze.
Wheelchair rugby: United States beat Great Britain. Under the pressure, there’s a turnover as GB attack down the sideline. Even had they scored to draw level, the US would have had time to score again with very little clock left. But that fumble seals it. And in the end the USA will win 50-48, after trailing by six tries early in the game. Some comeback.
The USA tops Pool B with three wins from three. GB second with two.
Wheelchair rugby: 47 tries apiece with a minute to go, USA and Great Britain.
An unfortunate inevitability of athletic competition these days, there are always statements like these. From Reuters:
Polish track cyclist Marcin Polak, who won a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin), the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Friday. “The rider has been provisionally suspended pending the final adjudication of the matter. He is thus not allowed to participate in the Men’s B 1000m time trial of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 scheduled for 28 August 2021,” the UCI said in a statement. “The consequences on the bronze medal he obtained in the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be determined by the relevant disciplinary panel.” Polak, 38, won his bronze medal on Wednesday. He also claimed two time trial world titles in 2015 and 2017, and won an individual pursuit world title on the track in 2019.
Wheelchair rugby: The Americans might take the lead here. Some heavy defensive work blocks off the line once, twice, three times, and eventually no try is awarded to GB. Down the other end, USA will score and lead 40-39! Five minutes left.
Wheelchair rugby: 38-38, six minutes to go...
Wheelchair rugby: Great Britain try to run down the clock on a couple of plays there, and manage to get into three-quarter time with a lead 35-34. It’s going to be a tussle.
Wheelchair rugby: It’s try for try in the GB-USA game, which is 33-33 approaching the end of the third quarter.
Swimming: The 50m freestyle S11 races have been swum. Wendell Belarmino Pereira scores gold for Brazil, they’ve had a really good meet. Hua Dongdong gets silver, his second medal for China in 24 hours, and Edgaras Matakas gets Lithuania’s first medal of the Games with bronze.
Then it’s a Chinese double for the women: Ma Jia and Li Guizhi one and two, the Russian Karolina Pelendritou in third.
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Wheelchair rugby: Great Britain with the break, leading the USA 22-20 with a couple of minutes to half time.
Powerlifting: Ukrainian gold for Mariana Shevchuk, who lifts 125 kg in the women’s -55kg division. Xiao Cuijan takes silver for China, Besra Duman bronze for Turkey.
Judo: A few medals going around, and Azerbaijan have won a third. All within about an hour tonight in Tokyo. Vugar Shirinli does the business in the men’s -60kg division.
Symmetry as Russia and Ukraine win bronze in the women’s -48kg (Viktoriia Potapova and Yuliiya Ivanytska respectively) and -52kg (Alesia Stepaniuk and Nataliya Nikolaychyk). The two bronze for the men’s -60kg go to Recep Ciftci (Turkey) and Alex Bologa (Romania).
Silver and bronze for Great Britain in the 200 free
Swimming: The medal rush keeps coming, with another battle at the front. Valeriia Shabalina won gold in the 100 fly on Wednesday, and takes another in the 200 freestyle S14. Takes the lead late from Bethany Firth. Jessica-Jane Applegate takes bronze to complete her set with silver and gold in the two previous Games. Ruby Storm finishes out of the medals for Australia.
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Table tennis: Great Britain’s Thomas Matthews has won his Class 1 quarter final 3-1 against Italy’s Andreas Borgato.
Gold for Reece Dunn
Swimming: Gold medal No9 for Great Britain! He breaks his own world record by half a second in the 200m freestyle S14. Gabriel Bandeira of Brazil makes it a real race. He also swims inside Dunn’s previous world record, and threatens to take the race through the last 20 metres, huge strokes. Dunn has just enough left to beat him by a fraction, after Bandeira had beaten him in the 100m fly a couple of nights ago.
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Gold for New Zealand!
Swimming: First gold of the Games for Aoetearoa. And first gold of a career for 20-year-old Tupou Neiufi, in the 100m backstroke S8. She has a very brief career at major meets and has never won a race, until now. She is crying in the pool, overwhelmed. Jessica Long, winning bronze for USA, swims over to hug Neiufi and looks genuinely happy for her. Silver goes to Ukraine’s Kateryna Denysenko.
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Swimming: Another world record in the pool, Robert Griswold of the USA beating the mark in the men’s 100m backstroke S8. Inigo Sanz Llopis (Spain) gets silver, Liu Fengqi (China) holds off Australia’s Jesse Aungles for bronze.
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Wheelchair basketball: Great Britain’s men get whacked by Germany, 71-59. Third in the group now with one win and one loss, behind Germany with the same record. Australia the only team in that group to have two from two.
Gold for Hannah Russell
Swimming: In the same event for the S12 women, Hannah Russell defends her Rio gold! Not as convincing, two and a half seconds outside her world record swim from those Games, and Daria Pikalova threatens to take the medal for Russia in the closing metres after Russell led substantially through the first lap. She manages to hold her lead with a well-timed touch, ahead of Pikalova and Brazil’s Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago.
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Bronze for Stephen Clegg in the 100m backstroke
Swimming: Great Britain wins another medal with Clegg coming in third, less than a second behind Raman Salei and Ukraine’s Sergii Klippert in the S12 category.
Salei wins Azerbaijan’s second gold of the games. Not their first! Because only moments earlier, Shahana Hajiyeva won in the women’s -48kg judo. Two in a minute for Azerbaijan.
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If you want to go further than the blog, and get the detail on whichever sport you’re especially interested in, here’s our interactive events page.
Here’s a good one on GB’s Lee Pearson, who swept to gold as one of the final riders last night.
Paul Mac has our eyes on the ground in Tokyo. He was at the lifting today.
What is on tonight, Tokyo time?
Thanks Luke. Greetings once again. Can’t get enough Games. What’s on? Group matches continue for the goalball, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. The judo medal bouts for various classes have just begun. And recapping that only three matches in wheelchair tennis were possible today before the heat policy forced a delay.
Plenty of finals coming up, and some marquee team matches. All times are in Tokyo: plus one hour for Australia’s east coast, minus eight hours for the UK, minus years in prison for Majorca.
4:30 - powerlifting. The women’s -55kg final.
4:40 - table tennis quarter finals begin, and go long into the night.
5pm - swimming. Medal races across 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m free.
5:30 - wheelchair rugby. Group match with Great Britain v USA.
6:30 - powerlifting. The men’s -65kg final.
6:30 - wheelchair fencing. Gold bouts in the team épée.
7pm - athletics. Medals ahoy. The men’s shot put (T55 and F57) and long jump (T11). The women’s (T37). The men’s 100m (T37 and T47). And the men’s 400m (T52).
7pm - equestrian. The Grade III individual dressage.
8pm - wheelchair rugby. New Zealand v Canada.
That’s all from me for now. Hope you’ve enjoyed the action as much I have. Geoff Lemon will take over from here.
Here’s our write-up of Kadeena Cox’s stunning triumph at the velodrome.
Cycling: Dorian Foulon of France takes gold in the Men’s C5 4000m Individual Pursuit Final over Australia’s Alistair Donohoe. Foulon went out fast and just kept going. In the qualifiers, Donohoe was way back on the top times but came roaring home to make the gold medal race. And the man with mullet tried the same tact again here, but Foulon was unstoppable. The Frenchmen is in tears as he rolls around the track, an incredible achievement at just 23 years old. Another nice moment as Foulon and Donohoe embrace post-race. Ukraine’s Yehor Dementyev takes bronze.
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Cycling: We said earlier Jozef Metelka would be tough to beat in the Men’s C4 4000m individual pursuit, and he was just too good. The Slovakian takes gold in the final, beating Romania’s Carol-Eduard Novak. A great triumph for Metelka, who lost his leg in a motorbike crash in 2009. He backs up his gold from Rio. Novak, 45, also has an interesting backstory. He’s currently minister for youth and sport in the Romanian government and has won gold and silver at past Games. Novak grew up a speed skater, but lost his feet in a car accident in 1996. Bronze goes to Colombia’s Diego German Duenas.
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Men’s wheelchair basketball: Half-time at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, and Germany leads Great Britain 31-28. The Germans lost their first match, so they’ll be hoping to get on the board today. Britain breezed through Algeria in their first match.
Goalball: Over in the women’s goalball, China have beaten Australia 6-0.
Wheelchair rugby: Game over. Japan win, 57-53. The hosts looked assured throughout that match. Australia tried hard but once Japan got out to a lead, they didn’t look like giving it up.
Welcome to our British readers who might be waking up to the news that Kadeena Cox has won gold, defending her title from Rio, and breaking a world record in the process. It was a sensational effort – and it’s great to see some of you celebrating in the comments section. And of course, it’s not over for Cox. She’ll be up for the Women’s 400m T38 next week. Definitely one to watch out for.
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Extreme heat stops play in wheelchair tennis
An unwelcome first at the Games today as outdoor play at the wheelchair tennis has been suspended due to extreme heat. Matches outside of centre court will not resume play until 5pm JST (at the earliest) after wet globe bulb temperatures of 31.2 degrees celsius were recorded. That exceeds a limit of 30.1 degrees WGBT set earlier this year by the International Tennis Federation in order to secure the safety of players at Tokyo 2020.
Wet globe bulb temperatures take a greater account of humidity than conventional measures and are used as a guide to how safe it is for human beings to be outdoors.
Oppressive heat during tennis competition at the Olympics caused one player to faint on court and was the subject of multiple complaints from players. From July 29, Tokyo 2020 officials opted to move the start of play to the late afternoon. Today’s play, however, started at 11am JST despite a forecast of temperatures at least as high as 34 degrees by conventional measures. People with disabilities are at greater risk to their health from exposure to extreme heat.
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Gold to Team GB's Kadeena Cox
Cycling: Jubilant scenes at the Izu Velodrome. Britain’s Kadeena Cox defends her title in the women’s C4 500m time trial. Cox’s support staff are ecstatic, embracing each other as she crosses the line. They knew she was on track for the win - and her time is a world record. What an effort from Cox. Canada’s Kate O’Brien wins silver, and Caroline Groot of the Netherlands takes bronze. Cox, who was a very promising able-bodied sprinter, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. She also holds medals in athletics, including a gold from Rio in the 400m. An incredible athlete.
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Wheelchair rugby: Still close between Japan and Australia, but the hosts look very assured. They hold a three try lead (43-40) at three-quarter-time, and it’ll take something special for the Australians to turn this around. Australia’s Andrew Edmondson, who was in the Steelers’ gold medal winning team at Rio, went down hard in a collision at the end of that quarter, so let’s hope he’s okay.
Cycling: More medals on offer at the Izu Velodrome. It’s a field of 11 for the women’s C4 500m time trial. With four riders to go, China’s Jianping Ruan has the lead. New Zealand’s Nicole Murray is in second, while Alina Punina of the Russian Paralympic Committee is third. Reigning gold medallist, and multi-sport champ, Kadeena Cox, of Great Britain, is up soon.
We mentioned the men’s -59kg powerlifting before. Gold went to China’s Qi Yongkai, but an amazing moment, too, for Herbert Aceituno.
"Disability comes from the mind, not the body."
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 27, 2021
Herbert Aceituno made history today, winning #bronze in the Men's -59kg #Powerlifting and the 1️⃣st #Paralympics medal for El Salvador🇸🇻
The powerlifter proudly waved his country's flag at the #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony
China win gold, this time at the velodrome
Cycling: It’s all over in the Men’s C1-3 1000m time trial. China’s Li Zhangyu takes the gold, silver to France’s Alexandre Leaute, and bronze to Britain’s Jaco Van Gass. It was an absolutely quality competition: all three medal winners break the world record in their respective classifications. Another gold to China, and well done to Li Zhangyu –it’s the third time he’s won this event at the Games.
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Cycling: Back to the men’s C1-3 1000m time trial. Jaco Van Gass, of Great Britain, is the second last cab off the rank here and it’s a quick time. He’s into the bronze medal position. Van Gass already has a gold from the C3 pursuit. An incredible effort once again. One rider to go: Team USA’s Joseph Berenyi.
Wheelchair rugby: Japan has eked out a one-point lead against Australia, 26-25, late in the second period. It’s end to end stuff at the moment and, as it often does in this sport, you suspect this match will come down to a few crucial moments.
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Cycling: They’re flying at the velodrome now. Li Zhangyu of China blitzes past Alexandre Leute’s time, in the C1-3 1000m time trial, breaking the C1 world record as he does it. Could it be another gold for China?
Cycling: Over at the velodrome, they’re three quarters of the way through the men’s C1-3 1000m time trial. The way this works is that cyclists of varying impairment levels compete together, with their times adjusted depending on their classification. For some time, no one got close to the Russian paralympic committee’s Mikhail Astashov, who broke the C1 world record. That was until France’s Alexandre Leaute, a C2 rider, who backed up his gold in the individual pursuit yesterday with the top time here so far. It’s a C2 world record, too. Australia’s Gordon Allan is currently in the bronze medal position, with five riders remaining.
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Medal tally
That’s four gold for China since our last medal tally update – and that update was only three hours ago. China has 12 gold medal in total now. Australia remains on seven, with Great Britain on six.
Again, it's gold for China
Powerlifting: What a day for China. In the women’s 50kg, China’s Hu Dandan takes gold with a best lift of 120kg, ahead of Rehab Ahmed of Egypt. Olivia Broome of Great Britain wins bronze, just edging out her nearest competitor by 1kg. Broome lifted 107kg.
Wheelchair rugby: A big match between reigning world champions Japan and gold medallists at Rio, Australia, has just gotten underway. Both teams are vying for top spot.
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Men’s goalball: Japan absolutely bossed that match in the end, beating the United States 10-1.
Another gold to China after discus win
Discus: The women’s F55 discus has drawn to a close. China’s Dong Feixia takes the gold, with a throw 26.64, ahead of Latvia’s Diana Latdadzite. Mexico’s Rosa Maria Uerroro Cazares takes bronze. An incredible effort also from Nurkhon Kurbanova, of Uzbekistan. She’s finished eighth here, but her throw of 20.40 is a world record in her classification (F54).
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Men’s goalball: Japan are off to flyer against the United States, leading 6-1. Both teams have won their first game, meaning this clash may prove crucial in seeing who tops the group.
China wins gold in men's powerlifting
Powerlifting: In the 59kg category, a best lift of 187kg from Qi Yongkai of China is enough for the gold, ahead of Egypt’s Sherif Osman and El Salvador’s Herbert Aceituno.
Some (relatively) good news on the Covid-19 front today with the news that no athletes have tested positive for the virus. That’s the first 0 case day since August 19 when a number of teams were yet to arrive in the country. Official stats show the testing programme recorded 13 positive cases in total, with nine contractors testing positive and two representatives of the media.
It was also confirmed that the unidentified member of ‘Games-related personnel’ who was admitted to hospital yesterday is continuing to receive medical treatment today. Their condition is ‘not severe’ according to a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson.
Wheelchair rugby: Nail-biting conclusion here, with France keeping their chances of progressing alive. They win 54-52 against Denmark, in a closely fought match. Denmark were seeking a turnover with less than 30 seconds to go, but the ball just didn’t fall their way. Denmark, who shocked many with a first round win against reigning champs Australia, are now out of the tournament. They look absolutely shattered.
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Staying with the athletics for a second, Australia’s Isis Holt has spoken after her silver medal performance just now. A former world champion and Paralympic silver medallist, Holt, 20, had come back from a break from the sport with the hope of adding that elusive gold medal to her haul.
“I wasn’t expecting a time like that today,” Holt said post-race. “It would’ve been awesome to win that final but that PB for me is insane. For me, that’s a world record, and, yeah, I couldn’t be happier.”
Holt will be back in the 200m.
Gold to China, silver to Australia in 100m
Athletics: Wow! China’s Xia Zhou comes flying out of the blocks and holds off Australia’s Isis Holt to claim gold in the Women’s T35. Zhou’s time of 13.00 seconds is a world record, beating the record time set by Holt in the heats. Holt’s time was also a personal best. Bronze goes to Great Britain’s Maria Lyle. It’s a season’s best time for Lyle.
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Australia’s Amanda Reid spoke about the importance of being an Indigenous athlete after she won gold and broke the world record in the C1-3 500m category.
You can read more here.
Wheelchair rugby: We’ve seen some very competitive matches so far, and this clash between Denmark and France is no different. The French are up 37-35 at the start of the fourth period. It’s a crucial match for both teams. The French have lost their first two matches, while Denmark have won one of two.
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Athletics: Well, you would be happy after a time like that wouldn’t you. A bit earlier today, Norway’s Salum Ageze Kashafali broke the paralympic record in the heats of the 100m T12, with a blistering time of 10.46 seconds. T12 competitors have a visual impairment. Kashafali already holds the world record (10.45) and will no doubt be looking to go even faster in the final.
What's your go-to victory dance?
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 27, 2021
Salum Ageze Kashafali #NOR put his skills on show after setting a new Paralympic record in the men's T12 100m! 🕺#ParaAthletics #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics @ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/YH4bblQvHR
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Colombia wins gold and bronze in the Javelin
Athletics: A great moment for Colombia here. It’s gold for Colombia’s Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas in the F38 javelin, with a world record throw of 60.31m. His compatriot Luis Fernando Ucumi Villegas takes bronze, while Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bilyi wins silver. A tough day for Australia’s Corey Anderson, who was in the bronze medal position until the last round. Anderson went into competition with the world record to his name, but just couldn’t quite hit his stride today. Jayden Sawyer, also of Australia, finished in seventh.
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Cycling: Over at the Izu velodrome, qualifying has wrapped up for the C4 and C5 4000m individual pursuit. In the C4, it’ll be Slovakia’s Josef Metelka going for gold against Romania’s Carol-Eduard Novak. Metelka looks like he will be tough to beat, having broken the world record in the heats and finishing about nine seconds faster than Novak.
And it was a nail-biting end to the heats in the C5 event, where Alistair Donohoe seemed to come from nowhere to qualify for the gold medal race. Donohoe, who sports a quite incredible mullet haircut, was well behind Ukraine’s Yehor Ementyev in their head-to-head heat, but took the lead in the last lap. He’ll go up against Dorian Foulon of France, who finished about two seconds faster than Donohoe, breaking the world record in the process.
Thanks Geoff. Hope you’ve all been enjoying the action so far, it’s been thrilling hasn’t it?
And Geoff said, there’s plenty going on at the moment, including medals being that are being decided as we speak, so let’s get into it.
Right then. Plenty of medal events in train at the moment: the women’s F55 discus, the men’s -59kg powerlifting, and the men’s F38 javelin, where Australia’s Corey Anderson (who is not the New Zealand cricketer) holds the world record but is currently in fourth place.
While they are all midstream, this may be my best chance to hand over to Luke Henriques-Gomes.
Medal tally
China leads the table with 8 gold medals. Australia is clear in second with 7, and Great Britain third with 6.
Athletics: In the standing shotput earlier, Tunisia’s first medal of the Games arrived thanks to Raoua Tlili’s world record throw of 10.55 metres.
Mayerli Buitrago Ariza got silver for Colombia, and Antonella Ruiz Diaz bronze for Argentina.
While turmoil continues in Afghanistan, here’s one of the many millions of lives affected by that war.
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Swimming: A few updates from the heats for Australia and Great Britain.
In the men’s 100m backstroke S8, Jesse Aungles (Aus) is through.
Men’s 200m freestyle S14, Jordan Catchpole and Reece Dunn (GB) are through with, Liam Schluter and Ricky Betar (Aus), while Thomas Hamer (GB) didn’t start.
Women’s 200m freestyle S14 final will have GB’s Bethany Firth, Louise Fiddes and Jessica-Jane Applegate, and Australia’s Ruby Storm.
Men’s 50m butterly S5: Andrew Mullen (GB).
In the women’s 200m individual medley, Australia has Tiffany Thomas Kane and Isabella Vincent. And in the 400m freestyle S10, Australia has bronze medallist Katja Dedekind in the women’s and Braedan Jason in the men’s.
Long jump: Ishitile produces her best jump of the day to go from eighth to sixth, before Karlsson betters that and gets back up to sixth herself. Takada stays fifth. Spoladore Salvatini has a misfire that sees her nearly miss the sand on landing, but it’s a legal jump and she still managed 4.70, not far behind her day’s best.
That means the medallists are decided. Now for the order.
Pavlenko stays bronze. Limps from the arena, she’s been in trouble all day with that leg and she’s still held on for a medal.
Mirzayorova has her final shot, after being top of the comp through much of the day. Belts down the runway following the calls of her assistant. It’s a good leap. Not five metres, but another personal best of 4.91! She stays silver, but she’s outdone herself today, literally.
Which means that Costa de Oliveira stays gold, Ponyboy. She gets one more celebration jump, just for laughs. She jumps and waves and smiles at the top of her mark. Lands way short of her best but that disappointment lasts all of 0.4 seconds. She’s won the T11 long jump.
Athletics: Australia’s Sam McIntosh misses out on the final for the men’s 400m T52, which is one of the wheelchair races.
Long jump: Silvania de Costa de Oliveira goes top! Her fifth jump hits 5.00 metres and she’s into the gold medal spot. Mirzayorova already hit a PB to make that 4.89, so it’s a big ask for her to suddenly find another 12 centimetres on her next.
If you want a visual break, have a look at Day 2 (yesterday) in pictures.
World record gold for Australia's Amanda Reid
Cycling: A phenomenal ride from Reid, starting second last in the order. She watched China’s Qian Wangwei set a world record, with a real time of 41.403 and an adjusted time of 38.070. Reid knows that she needs to better that record to win. And she does.
Around the track in 38.487 real time, which adjusts to 35.581. A huge ride, and she takes gold.
Alyda Norbruis comes after that with a chance to steal it from Reid, but can’t quite. She tops Qian for the silver. The fast velodrome does its thing again.
Long jump: Salvatini Spoladore jumps her season best of 4.74, matching the jump of Chiaki Takada from earlier. Takada can’t improve on her own mark. So again those two hold their original positions in fifth and fourth.
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Wheelchair basketball: Australia’s men beat Algeria 37-83 to go top of Group B with two wins.
Long jump: Eight jumpers in the final, approaching their fourth jump. Mirzayorova in the lead. Ishitile (Namibia) and Panyatib (Thailand) jump first but don’t improve on their eighth and seventh positions. Karlsson bails out of her jump after a distraction and is allowed to restart. Doesn’t top her earlier 4.44 though and stays sixth.
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Games record for Isis Holt in heats
Women’s 100m: The T35 category is for athletes with coordination impairments, and Australia’s Isis Holt holds the world record with 13.43. She adds a Games record of 13.49 in winning her heat.
Qualifying behind her are Isabelle Ferder (Germany) and Oxana Corso (Italy).
From the other heat are Zhou Xia (China), Maria Lyle (Great Britain), Fatimah Suwaed (Iraq), Jagoda Kibil (Poland), and Nienke Timmer (Netherlands).
Long jump: Salvatini Spoladore (Brazil) and Karlsson (Sweden) both foul on their third jumps. Pavlenko lands her jump, injury notwithstanding, and gets within 3cm of Mirzayorova before limping away again. The Uzbek doesn’t better her own first place jump of 4.89 on her next attempt, instead logging 4.64 metres.
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Long jump: Uzbekistan and Ukraine in the top two spots so far, but Yulia Pavlenko in second comes up from her jump limping. Looks in trouble as she hobbles off. If so, Asila Mirzayorova tightens her hold on gold.
5000 metres: Karasawa Kenya of Japan puts on the afterburners with a lap to go, scorching past most of the field after having spent the race settled back in the back. He comes up to Jacques, but Jacques has bided him time and is able to kick coming into the last bend, where Kenya has already used his kick and instead drops away.
Gold for Brazil! Silver and bronze for Japan, with Wada Shinya coming up into third position.
5000 metres: Jacques is back to the lead now, Kiprop dropping to third.
5000 metres: The Brazilian runner Yeltsin Jacques has been leading up to the halfway mark, but Rodgers Kiprop of Kenya has come up to take the lead. Jacques drops in right behind and keeps on the pace at this stage.
Anyone looking for a bit of Straya! barracking in the Australian morning, the men’s wheelchair basketballers have steamed into half time with a 42-17 win over Algeria. Algeria, on the other hand, produced the writing of Albert Camus, which Australia really can’t rival. Honours even, then.
Did I miss the fencing, earlier? Yep, the wheelchair fencing has the team épée gold at the end of the day’s qualifying fights. And there are some rowing heats as well.
The men’s T11 5000 metres is about to start, while the long jumpers start off. These runners will race with a guide alongside them, tethered by the wrist.
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Cheerful scenes at the track, where the competitors in the women’s T11 long jump are being introduced. This is the vision-impaired category, so they’re all wearing eyeshades and being accompanied out by an Olympic volunteer. As each name is read out to the crowd, the athletes are waving and smiling, some jumping up and down in anticipation of getting started.
The archery ranking rounds with the compound and recurve bows are being held this morning Tokyo time as well, setting up how the competition will unfold on later days.
Preamble
Good day to you, whatever time it is and whatever place you’re in. The Tokyo 2020* Paralympics Day 3 of competition is underway. There will as ever be a very busy schedule across the venues of Tokyo.
- Track and field begins today. Thus far most of the major events have been in the pool or at the velodrome, but there will be category medals coming in the long jump, 5000 metres, javelin, shot put, and the women’s T35 100 metres.
- Track cycling has more medals going in individual pursuit categories and time trials.
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Equestrian brings in two more dressage categories, after we decided three yesterday.
- Judo has its first day of competition, with a slew of fights all through the day, ending up in the medal bouts.
- Powerlifting has four more medal categories to be decided.
- Swimming has a host of finals to be swum later today.
- Elsewhere, the wheelchair tennis early rounds will begin, table tennis gets up to the quarter finals, and pool matches will continue in goalball, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby.
Shall we?
