Gold for Hannah Cockroft & Many Record-Breaking Paralympic Performances

It’s thrillingly busy on the track in Paris! Here’s all the medal action from Saturday and Sunday, including the first Para Athletic medals for Team GB and lots of record-breaking performances.

Have a look at this post to see what the Paralympic categories mean. And here’s the full schedule for the Paris 2024 Para Athletics on the track. 

GOLD FOR HANNAH COCKROFT!

GB’s Hannah Cockroft won gold in the Women’s 100m – T34 on Sunday night to claim GB’s first gold medal in the Para Athletics. Hannah has now won four golds in Women’s 100m – T34 having won in London, Brazil, Tokyo and now Paris. Overall she has eight Paralympic golds and she’s racing later in the week in the Women’s 800m – T34, for which she’s the reigning champion. We may also see her line up in the Universal Relay.

GB’s Kare Adenegan finished in second to Hannah, to make it two Brits on the podium.

SATURDAY CATCH UP

On a rainy morning in Paris, Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner out-sprinted USA’s Susannah Scaroni in the Women’s 5000m – T54 final in a new Paralympic record of 10:43.62. Debrunner has won marathons in London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City, and she’ll be hoping to add another gold in the Olympic marathon which takes place on Sunday 8 September.

There were two other golds won in the morning. Spain’s Yassine Ouhdadi El Ataby won the Men’s 5000m – T13. And in the Men’s 1500m – T46 final, gold went to Aleksandr Iaremchuk, a neutral athlete. 

On Saturday night, USA’s Jaydin Blackwell set a new world record in the Men’s 100m – T38. He ran 10.64 to win gold and beat his own previous record of 10.72. 

In the Women’s 100m – T38 final, Colombian Karen Tatiana Palomeque ran 12.26 for her new world record. She beat the previous record by 0.12, set by Britain’s Sophie Hahn at Tokyo 2020. Sophie finished 6th in Saturday’s final. 

There was a thrilling finish in the Men’s 5000m – T54 with USA’s Daniel Romanchuk winning gold ahead of Switzerland’s Marcel Hug. These two will be racing again in the men’s marathon at the weekend. Between them they’ve dominated marathoning for many years, so it should be a great race. 

Nambia’s Lahja Ishitille’s time of 56.20 in the Women’s 400m – T11 beat the previous Paralympic record of 56.25.

Ethiopia’s Tigist Mengistu won the Women’s 1500m – T13, retaining her title from Tokyo. Turkey’s Serkan Yildirim won the Men’s 100m – T12. And in the Women’s 400m – T47 final, gold was won by Brazil’s Fernanda Yara da Silva.

SUNDAY’S STORIES

It was a busy Sunday with 10 golds up for grabs on the track, including Hannah Cockroft’s 100m T34 win. Of those wins, five set new records.

In the morning session, China’s Yiting Shi won the Women’s 200m – T36 in a new Paralympic record, and retained her title from Tokyo. 

Switzerland’s Katherine Debrunner won a second gold in two days becoming champion of the Women’s 800m – T53, having won the Women’s 5000m – T53 yesterday. Her time in the 800m was a new paralympic record. GB’s Samantha Kinghorn won silver. 

In the Women’s 800m – T54 final, Switzerland’s Manuela Schaer set a new Paralympic record to win gold. 

South Africa’s Mpumelelo Mhlongo won the Men’s 100m – T44 with a time of 11.12. He’s the reigning Paralympic champion and the event’s world record holder. 

It was China’s Zhou Xia who won the Women’s 200m – T38, the champion from Tokyo where she set a new world and Paralympic record in the race. 

The Men’s 100m – T13 was a terrific race won by Algeria’s Skander Djamil Athmani in 10.42, which was another Paralympic record, and he upgraded his silver from Tokyo.

Thailand’s Pongsakorn Paeyo retained his Paralympic title in the Men’s 400m – T53 in 56.77 and China’s Dai Yunqiang sets a new Paralympic record in the Men’s 400m – T54 in a time of 44.55. USA’s Daniel Ramunchuk, who won 5000m gold yesterday, finished third. 

And in the Men’s 400m – T11 final, for blind runners with a guide, Venezuela’s Enderson Santos Gonzales and guide Jose Maza won gold. Guillaume Junior Atangana, and his guide Donard Ndim Nyamjua, finished third and became the first medallists from the Refugee Paralympic Team the Paralympics.

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Here’s a post about the Paralympic categories. And see here for the full schedule for the Paris 2024 Para Athletics on the track. 

Image: Getty Images Michael Reaves