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Thursday, November 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

‘Sucking VBs’: Swimmer’s tribute to late grandad

Col Pearse won a silver medal on the penultimate day of competition in Paris. (EPA PHOTO)

By George Clarke in Paris

Col Pearse has saluted his late grandfather after he won silver on the penultimate day (day 10) of the Paris Paralympics as Australia claimed 10 medals.

HOW AUSTRALIA FARED

GOLD

Curtis McGrath (para-canoe, men’s KL2 200m kayak) – Started under attack but surged home to cap a traumatic six weeks following the birth of his first child to win a third-straight gold.

James Turner (athletics, men’s T36 100m) – Won silver in this event in Tokyo but has finally got his hands on the prize he craved the most. Leaves Paris with a gold in the 400m too.

SILVER

Dylan Littlehales (para-canoe, men’s KL3 200m kayak) – Couldn’t reel in Algerian Brahim Guendouze but Littlehales fought all the way to grab a silver and extinguish the hurt of a fourth-place finish in Tokyo.

Col Pearse (swimming, S10 men’s 200m individual medley) – Pearse got his first medal of the Games in a tight finish behind reigning Italian world champion Stefano Raimondi.

Rowan Crothers, Alexa Leary, Chloe Osborn and Callum Simpson (swimming, 34-point mixed 100m medley) – Crothers swam the anchor leg and clawed Australia back into contention from fourth to finish 0.36secs behind eventual winners Italy.

BRONZE

Rheed McCracken (athletics, men’s T34 800m) – Wheelchair racer picks up his sixth Paralympic medal and did so by just 0.01secs to hold off Wang Yang of China.

Lina Lei (table tennis, women’s S9 singles) – Had to fight back from 2-1 down against Xiong Guyan of China but was unable to clinch it in the decisive fifth set.

Lin Ma (table tennis, men’s S9 singles) – Pushed Frenchman Lucas Dider all the way, going down in a 3-2 semi-final defeat.

Susain Seipel (para-canoe, women’s VL2 200m va’a) – The 38-year-old picked up her third medal at a third Games. Seipel will also compete in the kayak singles, the semi-finals for which take place on Sunday (local time).

Reece Langdon (athletics, men’s T38 1500m) – Langdon and fellow Australian Angus Hincksman were right in contention until the last lap when Tunisian winner Amen Allah Tissaoui pushed on to win, closely followed by Canadian Nate Reich.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

*Judo – Paralympic debutant Taylor Gosens was knocked out of the +70kg J2 competition with straight defeats. Gosens lost 10-0 to Zarina Raifova of Kazakhstan in the repechage.

  • Powerlifting – Australian Ben Wright (88kg) finished seventh with a best lift of 192kg to set a new Oceania record. China’s Yan Panpan won gold, bench pressing a remarkable 242kg.

WHO SAID WHAT?

“Whenever he used to go to the pub back home, he used to tell everyone about me. To lose him so close to the competition, this was for him, I know up in the clouds he’s sucking on a few VBs and crying and being so proud of me” – Col Pearse after winning a silver medal in the fortnight since his grandfather’s death.

“I knew when I crossed the line that I’d won from the giant screen. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it.” – After seeing Australian partner Jarryd Clifford narrowly denied two podiums, and finishing fourth in her long jump, New Zealand’s Anna Grimaldi (T47) won gold in the 200m.

MEDAL TABLE (after day 10)

  1. China – Gold: 94, Silver: 73, Bronze 49. Total: 216.

  2. Great Britain – Gold: 47, Silver: 41, Bronze 31. Total: 119.

  3. USA – Gold: 35, Silver: 41, Bronze 25. Total: 101.

  4. Netherlands – Gold: 26, Silver: 17, Bronze 12. Total: 55.

**

  1. Australia – Gold: 18, Silver: 16, Bronze 28. Total: 62.
Australian Associated Press

Australian Associated Press

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