Three medals secured on penultimate day of Paralympics

After a day with no medals, the Australians came back with a vengeance, claiming one silver and two bronze medals on the final night of athletics action at Japan National Stadium.

James Turner (Iryna Dvoskina) came to the Tokyo Paralympics with one goal in mind - to continue his golden reign in all events he competes in. Today he faced the unthinkable, confronted by a shattering defeat for the first time in five years when he collected the silver medal in the men's 100m T36.

A false start, and a slow beginning after a seemingly early break from Malaysia's Mohamad Puzi rattled Turner's concentration, and despite a good fight to push in front, the 25-year-old was unable to run down China's Peicheng Deng, who took the gold in 11.85, in front of Turner's 12.00.

Not only was Turner's golden run undone, but his Paralympic record set yesterday in the heat was beaten.

"I'm pretty shattered to be honest. The guy behind me threw me off but I shouldn't have let that happen. I feel like I've let you all down and I'm really sorry about that," Turner said.

"It wasn't the time I was looking for and I really wanted the gold but instead it will be silver."

Earlier this year Deon Kenzie (Philo Saunders) became the first Australian with cerebral palsy to run sub four minutes in the 1500m, and today, he won bronze in the T38 category. The Kenzie had his work cut out for him in the rain amongst a hot field that included Canadian world record holder Nathan Riech, but despite the challenges of ahead of him, he was able to win his second Paralympic medal from two Games.

Riech displayed his dominance early breaking away from the pack to make the event a race for silver, while Kenzie worked his way forward in the pack throughout the first lap. He maintained a strong margin for the bulk of the event but unfortunately for the Tasmanian, Algeria's Abdelkrim Kai overtook with 50m to go, forcing Kenzie to take bronze in 4:03.76.

"To come away with the bronze is absolutely surreal. I've worked towards this for 12 years so it's unbelievable to be here. The atmosphere is amazing in Tokyo. I know no one is really here, but it's so inspiring," Kenzie said.

"I got stuck behind a few of the boys early in the race and it was slower than what I would have liked, but I made a move and was nice and steady, and worked my way forward to bring home bronze. The competition tonight shows the standard of the T38 category, and shows that we really are professional athletes who just so happen to have a disability. It's been fantastic to see so much ability at these Games."

Competing alongside Deon was 20-year-old Daniel Bounty (Peter Bock), who suffered a stroke at the age of 8 after a body surfing accident. He finished in sixth place in 4:12.95, showing much promise for the Paralympic debutant.

"To think that I couldn't walk one day and to run here at the Paralympics is a dream come true. Walking in this stadium, let alone running shows how far I've come," Bounty said.

Long jumper Nicholas Hum (John Boas) ticked off a milestone in his sporting career, winning his first ever international medal at a major championships claiming bronze in the T20 class. The two-time Paralympian broke the Australian record on his first attempt, positioning himself for a medal early on, but was outclassed by world champion Abdul Romly who landed a 7.45 jump, and Greek Athanasior Prodromou who swooped in over Hum on his last attempt with a 7.17m personal best. Hum's best jump of 7.12m is an improvement on his previous lifetime best by 20cm.

"It's still sinking in, I'm just speechless right now. It's unreal and hard to process. Wow," Hum said. 

"I've been working on aspects of my long jump. It's a bit overwhelming to have done so well. I've come back from injury and there's other stuff I've been dealing with so it's amazing to even be here."

Hum, who welcomed a newborn this week, had a message for his daughter, Holly:

"Beautiful Holly, welcome to the world. I'm so excited to meet you. Daddy has been competing at the Paralympics, but I'm excited to start a new chapter of my life to meet this beautiful girl. Sport has changed me as a person and I'm grateful to be here."

Rheed McCracken (Andrew Dawes) will return to Australia with one medal from two races, after placing sixth in the Men's 800m T34. Although his performance of 1:47.68 earned the 24-year-old a season best time, the race was as arduous as it was tactical, and early on in the race McCracken found himself in a tough position and unable to find his way to the front of the pack.

McCracken had a chance to put himself in medal contention early in the race, but very quickly found himself on the rail and at the back of the pack, without a gap manouvre himself forward. A run up opened with just over 100m to go, but at that point, a trio of Walid Ktila (Tunisia), Mohammed Alhammadi (UAE) and Yang Wang (China) were more than halfway down the straight.

McCracken will return home with three medals and two bronze medals from three Paralympic Games, with opportunities to put his learnings into practise next year at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan.

"I'm happy with that but I do wish I had a bit more kick at the end but that's where I didn't quite have the endurance as I'bve been focussing on the 100m and neglected the 800m a bit," he said.

"I'll keep working hard but first, get home, get through quarantine because I can't really go anywhere. My family is up in Bundaberg and my partner in Victoria. At least the dog will be there to say hello when I get back to Newcastle."

The second Bundaberg local to compete was Samantha Schmidt (Ralph Newton) who placed sixth at her first international competition in the Discus Throw F38. A proud Wakawaka and Gubbi Gubbi woman, Schmidt threw 30.26m in extremely wet conditions, showing that the 19-year-old has what it takes for a lengthy career ahead.

“Well, you kind of got to compete in different kinds of weather. You never know what you’re going to get, so I’m happy with six and good job to the girls, who got first, second on third. I didn’t think it was possible to get here. I was crying out there because I’ve wanted to get here for such a long time,” she said.

“I’m representing my people here, past present and future.”

A two-time Paralympic finalist at her maiden Games, Rhiannon Clarke (Danny Kevan) placed seventh in the 400m T38, producing two sensational runs in two days. After running a massive personal best and Australian record in the heat, she equalled that time again tonight, running 1:02.65.

"Gosh, it was hard out there. It was pouring by the time we went onto the track but I gave it my all. I came out there and I'm happy with what I've achieved," the 19-year-old said.

"I'm so proud to have made two Paralympic finals. I had the worst lead up. Everyone had COVID but I had so many injuries but I didn't stop. I wanted to make the Paralympic Team and so to do that and get to the finals is awesome."

While the competition has now concluded at Japan National Stadium, one more morning of athletics remains at the Paralympic Games, with the marathon taking place around the city streets of Tokyo. Tune in live on the Seven network from 7.25am AEST.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 4/9/2021