PARIS: The penultimate day of the Paralympics was defined by an emotional Curtis McGrath triumph on the water, James Turner clinching his second gold medal of the Games, and medal-winning swims.
Here’s what you missed while you were sleeping.
Lifesaving army mates, loved ones at home inspire McGrath to glory
Australian paddler Curtis McGrath won gold in front of some of the men who helped save his life when his legs were blown off by an explosive device in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.
The New Zealand-born Australian dedicated his victory in the men’s kayak single 200m (KL2) to those heroic men, as well as his nearest and dearest some 16,000 kilometres away: his wife Rachel and their baby boy Monty, who can’t be in Paris because Monty is recovering from emergency heart surgery.
McGrath won his third consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the event and will be out to defend his Paralympic title in the va’a single 200m (VL3) on Sunday.
In 2012, as McGrath’s army mates lugged him onto a stretcher and rushed him into a helicopter, he famously joked to them that they’d see him competing at the Paralympic Games.
“They’re all there [in the crowd] and were a part of that journey of recovery and rehabilitation,” McGrath said of his army mates.
“They’re the ones carrying my stretcher and putting the tourniquets on and literally saving my life. In the traumatic moment of that blast … they were with me, and they’re still here supporting me and it’s very special.”
A bag of canoe medals
Australia hauled in three canoe medals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium with McGrath, Dylan Littlehales and Susan Seipel all landing on the podium.
Littlehales secured silver in the men’s kayak single 200m (KL3), while Seipel grabbed bronze in the women’s va’a single 200m (VL2).
Aussie speedster steals 100m gold with sizzling finish
Champion Australian sprinter James Turner arrived in Paris aiming to win two gold medals — and on Saturday he completed his mission.
The 28-year-old’s quest for double gold looked to be in tatters with 20 metres remaining in the men’s T36 100m — he was placed third and had given away a significant lead to Deng Peicheng of China — but a stumble and a blazing finish rescued his dream.
As Deng staggered at the Stade de France, losing a world of momentum, Turner appeared to be gaining pace.
He shot past Deng and China’s Yifei Yang, too, then burst over the finish line to seize gold in 11.85 seconds — a time that equalled the Paralympic record.
“I was a bit worried there for a second,” Turner said.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got to pull something out of my pocket’. That was it.”
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Aussie swimming medallist’s moving message
Choking back tears after winning silver in the pool, Australian swimmer Col Pearse shared poignant words.
“I think for every Australian back home living with a disability, coming from the middle of nowhere in Australia, we tend to think they’ll never go far in life,” said the 21-year-old from the country Victorian town of Echuca.
“And I think that swim there, it really shows it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, if you’ve got a dream it’s achievable.”
Pearse snared silver in the men’s 200m individual medley SM10.
Dolphins round out Paris campaign with relay medal, new record
In the final swimming race of the Paralympics, the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay (34 points), Australia took silver with a record-breaking performance.
An Australian relay team featuring Alexa Leary, Callum Simpson, Chloe Osborn and Rowan Crothers captured silver.
The quartet completed the relay in 4:01.90, setting a new Oceanic record and finishing just 0.36 of a second behind a triumphant Italian team. The USA finished third.
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