PARIS: Japanese swimmer Takayuki Suzuki secured Japan’s first Paralympic gold in Paris on Thursday in the men’s 50-metre breaststroke, while cyclist Keiko Sugiura suffered an upset as she failed to advance to the medal race during the qualification round.
Suzuki, who was born with limb defects on his arms and legs, surged to victory with a time of 48.04 seconds in the SB3 class at Paris La Defense Arena.
Competing in his sixth consecutive Games, the veteran swimmer nabbed his first gold since the 2008 Games, marking his 11th Paralympic medal overall, Kyodo news agency reported.
“I swam exactly as I’d envisioned,“ he said, adding that he had “surpassed his 21-year-old self” after achieving a new personal best, improving on his time of 48.49 seconds set during the Beijing Games.
Meanwhile, Sugiura, who had been aiming to extend her record as Japan’s oldest gold medalist, was left devastated after finishing fifth in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual qualification race.
“I believe I gave it my all,“ Sugiura said, fighting back tears.
The two-time gold medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics finished with a time of 3 minutes and 53.549 seconds at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, just outside Paris.
Sugiura took up para cycling after suffering a brain injury in a cycling accident in 2016 and made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo at age 50.
