PARIS: The US won their first two track and field titles of the Paris Paralympics on Saturday but China piled on the medals to stretch their lead in the table.

On the same track at the Stade de France where his compatriot Noah Lyles won the Olympic gold nearly four weeks ago, Jaydin Blackwell charged to the men’s T38 100m final in a world record time of 10.64sec.

Blackwell, who has cerebral palsy, donned a pair of sunglasses to celebrate his victory.

“I had to bring something over here to put a little pizzazz into things,” the 20-year-old said.

“It was the perfect race, but I was just focused on what I had to do and get to the line as fast as possible.”

There was more USA success as wheelchair racer Daniel Romanchuk upstaged reigning champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland in an exciting men’s 5000m T54 final.

Romanchuk, a 26-year-old who was born with spina bifida, burst past five-time gold medallist Hug in the home straight, leaving the Swiss in silver medal position while Faisal Alrajehi took a rare Paralympic medal for Kuwait in third.

British veteran David Weir, a multiple Paralympic medallist, faded and finished eighth.

Romanchuk has impressive range having taken gold at 400m at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and has also won the Chicago, New York and Boston marathon wheelchair races.

China’s added an early gold medal on Saturday thanks to javelin thrower Yuping Zhao, who set a world record of 47.06 meters in the F12 category for athletes with a moderate visual impairment.

The Chinese team had moved up to 20 golds by the end of Saturday’s action, showing that the nation that has topped the medals table at every Paralympics since Athens in 2004 is well on the way to repeating that feat.

In the pool, Brazilian swimmer Gabriel dos Santos Araujo, known as Gabrielzinho, won his second title of the Paris Games by taking the 50m backstroke gold in the S2 category.

Gabrielzinho has stumps where his arms should be and his legs are atrophied, although he can walk.

Britain remained in second place in the medal standings with 11 golds as Alice Tai won her first individual Paralympic title, taking the S8 100m backstroke gold and Stephen Clegg and William Ellard both set world records to triumph in their events.

The USA finished the day with five golds and fifth in the table.

In other sports, the USA men’s wheelchair basketball team thrashed the Netherlands 60-34 with Brian Bell top-scoring on 18 points. The Americans have two wins out of two as they bid to retain their title.

The country expected to give them a run for their money, Great Britain, were convincing 88-58 winners over Canada.

In men’s sitting volleyball, gold medal hopefuls Bosnia booked their place in the semifinals, while Egypt kept their hopes of reaching the last four alive by beating hosts France.

Reigning champions Iran return to action on Sunday.

In track cycling, home favorite Dorian Foulon sent the Paris velodrome into raptures by defending his C5 4000m individual pursuit title in emphatic fashion by beating Ukraine’s Yehor Dementyev.

He said the contrast with the gold he won three years ago in Tokyo, where Covid restrictions meant there were no spectators, was huge.

“The big difference is the crowd, it’s crazy. People had t-shirts with my name on. What is this madness?” a tearful Foulon joked after the medal ceremony.

There was a setback for the organizers as the final training session for Sunday’s triathlon events was canceled due to concerns about the water quality of the River Seine.

The training session had been due to take place on Saturday morning but was scrapped “as a precaution” after heavy rain in the French capital which can stir up pollution.

The issue of the water quality of the Seine also dogged the Olympics, although the triathlons and marathon swimming events did eventually go ahead.
 

NEW YORK: Jannik Sinner avoided plunging through the US Open trapdoor which claimed Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz when he stormed into the last 16 on Saturday as fellow world number one Iga Swiatek stayed on course for a second New York triumph.
Australian Open champion Sinner raced past 87th-ranked Christopher O’Connell 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
The 23-year-old Italian’s win came a day after four-time champion Djokovic was sent spinning to his earliest loss in New York in 18 years by Alexei Popyrin.
One day earlier, 2022 winner Alcaraz was defeated in the second round by Dutch journeyman Botic van de Zandschulp.
“Today was great match. I knew I had to play very solid. My serve worked well so I am happy with my performance,” said Sinner after firing 15 aces in his 46 winners past outclassed O’Connell of Australia.
Sinner did not face a single break point in his one-hour 53-minute victory which took him into the last 16 for a fourth successive year.
“There have been some upsets in the tournament so let’s see what’s coming. I’m happy to still be here and play as many matches as possible,” added Sinner whose comfortable afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium saw tennis legend Serena Williams among the spectators.
Sinner will take on 14th seed Tommy Paul for a quarter-final place after the American defeated Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo in four sets.
There were 14 breaks of serve in that tie with Diallo, ranked a lowly 143 in the world, undone by 77 unforced errors.
Four-time French Open champion Swiatek was equally dominant as Sinner as the top-seeded Pole eased into the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The 23-year-old didn’t face a single break point and will face another Russian, Liudmila Samsonova for a quarter-final place.
“I like the night sessions but it’s noisy so I need to focus on my job and stay inside my bubble,” said Swiatek who shot a long hard stare at her opponent when a ball was speared toward her early in the second set.
“Anastasia is really powerful, she serves fast so I needed to use my intuition of where the ball was going.”
With Djokovic and Alcaraz heading home to Europe, Daniil Medvedev finds himself as the only former champion left in the men’s tournament.
The eccentric Russian, seeded five, faces Flavio Cobolli, the world number 31 from Italy.
Medvedev famously shattered Djokovic’s bid for a rare calendar Grand Slam when he captured the 2021 title in New York.
This year he was runner-up to Sinner at the Australian Open and made the semis-finals of Wimbledon but is without a tour title since winning the Rome Masters in May last year.
If Medvedev makes the fourth round for the sixth straight year he’ll face unseeded Nuno Borges of Portugal who saved three match points in a five-set triumph over Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.
Britain’s Jack Draper reached the last 16 for a second successive year by defeating Alcaraz’s conqueror Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, 2023 semifinalist Karolina Muchova, who knocked out two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the second round, cruised into the last 16 by beating Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-2.
She next faces French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fifth-seeded Italian, who beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4.
Paolini has now made the fourth round of all four Slams this year having previously never got beyond the second round in 16 attempts.
“I’m a fan of her (Muchova). I really love how she plays. She can play every shot, slice, volleys, serve and volleys. She’s a very complete player,” said Paolini.
US sixth seed Jessica Pegula made the second week for a third successive season by defeating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 6-3.
Pegula next faces Diana Shnaider, the 18th-seeded Russian who made the fourth round of a Slam for the first time by seeing off 37-year-old Sara Errani in straight sets.
Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac, ranked 39, also reached the fourth round of a major for the first time by defeating Belgian veteran David Goffin 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
He will take on Draper for a spot in the quarter-finals.