Tokyo: Brazilian athletes snagged the first track-and-field golds of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday, as elsewhere defending champions Australia booked their spot in the wheelchair rugby semi-final.
A range of sports are getting started on Friday, including archery, athletics and judo, which is being contested at Tokyo’s iconic Budokan venue.
Brazil’s Yeltsin Jacques became the first track gold medallist of the Tokyo Games, squeezing out Japan’s Kenya Karasawa to top the podium in the men’s 5,000m T11 final.
Jacques, who is visually impaired and runs with a guide, said his win was the culmination of five years of training.
“I have speed, I have energy. I’m naturally fast, it’s genetics,” added Jacques, who will also contest the 1,500m and marathon in the T11 category.
Fellow Brazilian Silvania Costa de Oliveira meanwhile took the first gold of the field events, successfully defending the title she won in Rio in the women’s T11 long jump.
In the pool meanwhile, swimmer Abbas Karimi has the chance to become the first Paralympic refugee team member ever to win a medal after qualifying Friday morning in the men’s S5 50m butterfly.
The Afghan-born 24-year-old, who was born with no arms, said his sights were set firmly on gold.
“We always train for a purpose, for a goal, and that’s the gold,” he said. “I’m going to go for the gold.”
In tennis, play on outdoor courts on the first day of competition was suspended due to “extreme weather” as temperatures hit 33 Celsius. Heat has been a persistent concern at the Paralympics - and the Olympics before them - with some Olympic events shifted because of the weather.
Elsewhere, Australia’s rugby wheelchair team advanced to the semi-finals, despite a 57-53 loss to Japan.
The defending gold medallists suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Denmark earlier in the week, with team captain Ryley Batt admitting the loss had left his team “pretty embarrassed”.
But the Steelers took down France on Thursday in a 50-48 result that rekindled their hopes of a record third consecutive gold medal.
Archery competition also began Friday, with the spotlight on Iranian star Zahra Nemati, who won golds in both Rio and London, and American Matt Stutzman, who famously shoots with his feet.
The 38-year-old Stutzman was born without arms and has joked about the confusion he sparked when he first asked a shop to sell him a bow and arrow.
But his unique style has made him both famous and successful, with a silver medal in London under his belt.
“I don’t care what people say, I don’t watch the news, I don’t watch other people’s scores, I’m just focusing on me and what I can do,” he said recently.
