SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 SPORTS

Paralympians, poor Rio kids teach each other about overcoming limits

RIO DE JANEIRO: French Paralympians got a taste “We are very lucky to be with them. Not all the and gave demonstrations. Each had a separate story don’t feel sorry for them because they made us feel of Rio’s tough realities in a visit to a favela Friday but children here have what they deserve: access to of being blind or deaf or partly paralyzed or ampu- proud and they win even with handicaps.” It was a the impoverished children greeting the disabled schooling, health, a roof over their heads. It’s tated. They wanted to show that sport “doesn’t view mirrored by the French Paralympians when athletes got an eye opener of their own. Foreign extremely important that we give them a little have limits,” Martinet said. they looked at the young, hopeful residents of the celebrities and sports stars often follow a well-beat- moment of happiness,” said Sandrine Martinet, who favela. en track from Rio’s glamorous tourist-friendly dis- won gold in the under 52kg category and has had MUTUAL ADMIRATION Martinent praised the blindfolded children for tricts to make brief morale-boosting visits in the poor sight since birth. If the visitors were impressed by the obstacles “going at it full tilt” and said she was touched how poor, sometimes deeply violent favela communi- She and other French athletes were welcomed to Rocinha’s young face in their attempt to build lives, afterward “they came for a hug.” “This favela is very ties. But the trip by a dozen French judokas and the Instituto Reacao NGO by its founder, 2004 the admiration was mutual. Young judokas had big, very crowded and all these children don’t have other Paralympians to Rocinha, the biggest favela of Olympic bronze medalist Flavio Canto. “It’s a great their eyes blindfolded so that they could experience the same things as us in France. We need to show all, had a difference. Rather than just coming to wit- day because the champions are here,” announced judo without being able to see. “I did it and it was them that world of sport is interested in them,” said ness the locals’ difficulties, these visitors brought Canto, whose institute promotes access to sport really, really difficult,” said 15-year-old Julia. Paralympic swimmer Elodie Lorandi, who won their own stories of overcoming terrible odds. and education for Rio’s poor and has trained top “They are incredible to be able to do judo with- bronze for France in the 100m and 400m freestyle, After leaving the bubble of the athlete’s village judokas, including gold medalist at the Olympics out seeing,” she said. Renan, 11, was ecstatic after and has a paralyzed leg. in the posh Barra district, meeting about 30 young this August, Rafaela Silva. For about an hour, having been able to compete against Frenchman Then she said: “We should do this more often in judo students in rough-edged Rocinha was a dis- judokas, athletics team members and swimmers Cyril Jonard, who is deaf and has impaired vision. France because it’s important to explain early to tinct reality check for the French. took part in the training, talked with the children “They don’t have our advantages,” Renan said, “but I children what being handicapped means.” — AFP

Podiums of the day

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Paralympics podiums of the day on Friday: ARCHERY Individual Recurve/Compound - W1 200 m - T45/46/47 Gold: John Walker (GBR) Gold: Deja Young (USA) Silver: David Drahoninsky (CZE) Silver: Alicja Fiodorow (POL) Bronze: Peter Kinik (SVK) Bronze: Lu Li (CHN)

Individual Compound - Open BOCCIA Gold: Jiamin Zhou (CHN) Mixed Individual - BC1 Silver: Yueshan Lin (CHN) Gold: David Smith (GBR) Bronze: Mi Soon Kim (KOR) Silver: Daniel Perez (NED) Bronze: Won Jeong Yoo (KOR) ATHLETICS 400m - T36 Mixed Individual - BC2 Gold: Paul Blake (GBR) Gold: Watcharaphon Vongsa (THA) Silver: Roman Pavlyk (UKR) Silver: Worawut Saengampa (THA) Bronze: William Stedman (NZL) Bronze: Zhiqiang Yan (CHN)

Shot Put - F40 Mixed Individual - BC3 Gold: Garrah Tnaiash (IRQ) Gold: Ho Won Jeong (KOR) Silver: Zhenyu Chen (CHN) Silver: Grigorios Polychronidis (GRE) Bronze: Smaali Bouaabid (TUN) Bronze: Jose Carlos Macedo (POR)

400m - T37 Mixed Individual - BC4 Gold: Charl Du Toit (RSA) Gold: Yuk Wing Leung (HKG) Silver: Omar Monterola (VEN) Silver: Samuel Andrejcik (SVK) Bronze: Sofiane Hamdi (ALG) Bronze: Pornchok Larpyen (THA)

1500m - T45/46 CYCLING - ROAD Gold: Samir Nouioua (ALG) Mixed H 5 Team Relay Silver: David Emong (UGA) Gold: Italy (Vittorio Podesta, Luca Mazzone, Bronze: (AUS) Alessandro Zanardi) Silver: United States (William Lachenauer, Club Throw - F51 William Groulx, Oscar Sanchez) Gold: Zeljko Dimitrijevic (SRB) Bronze: Belgium (Jean-Francois Deberg, Silver: Milos Mitic (SRB) Christophe Hindricq, Jonas Van De Steene) Bronze: Marian Kureja (SVK) RIO DE JANEIRO: Tatyana McFadden, center, holds a flag as she won her third gold medal of the games, Chelsea McClammer, left, won the silver Individual C 1-2-3 Road Race and Amanda McGrory won the bronze at the 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — AP Discus - F43/44 Gold: Steffen Warias (GER) Gold: David Blair (USA) Silver: Kris Bosmans (BEL) Silver: Akeem Stewart (TRI) Bronze: Fabio Anobile (ITA) Top US racer Bronze: Dan Greaves (GBR) T 1-2 Road Race Hauteur - T45/46/57 Gold: Hans-Peter Durst (GER) Gold: Roderick Townsend-Roberts (USA) Silver: David Stone (GBR) could go home with 5 golds Silver: Hongjie Chen (CHN) Bronze: Nestor Ayala Ayala (COL) Bronze: Aaron Chatman (AUS) Individual C 1-2-3 Road Race RIO DE JANEIRO: Tatyana McFadden came into from BMW USA, BP, Coca-Cola and Nike, hero or an icon like you have your baseball or Shot Put - F36 Gold: Jamie Whitmore (USA) the Rio Paralympics with a chance to win seven McFadden is embracing her role. football icons,” Deborah said. “I think she’s chang- Gold: Sebastian Dietz (GER) Silver: Sini Zeng (CHN) gold medals, from the 100 meters to the “I’m so thankful and so grateful for every ing perceptions not just in the games but in the Silver: Mykola Dibrova (UKR) Bronze: Denise Schindler (GER) marathon, an unprecedented feat for a wheel- opportunity that comes my way,” she said. “I work world. She shows that it doesn’t matter what you Bronze: Cuiqing Li (CHN) chair racer. so hard at it and it’s an honor. I love everything have or don’t have, it’s a matter of what you do T 1-2 Road Race Depending on how she does this weekend, about this sport.” with your body. She represents that.” Shot Put - F54/55 Gold: (AUS) Gold: Ruzhdi Ruzhdi (BUL) Silver: Jill Walsh (USA) she’ll go back to the United States with anywhere Her teammates don’t begrudge her the Born with spina bifida, McFadden is paralyzed Silver: Hamed Amiri (IRI) Bronze: Jana Majunke (GER) between four and six medals, at least three of attention. “Tatyana’s been awesome, she goes from the waist down and spent the first six years Bronze: Lech Stoltman (POL) them gold. A disappointment? Nope. Not for an above and beyond to get interviews and to get of her life in a Russian orphanage. EQUESTRIAN athlete who is probably America’s best-known newspapers and news stations to cover our She wasn’t expected to live long, but that all 400m - T11 Individual Freestyle Test - Grade Ia Paralympian. races,” said Chelsea McClammer, McFadden’s changed when she was adopted by Deborah, Gold: Cuiqing Liu (CHN) Gold: (GBR) “The 100 meters is one of the toughest races, training partner, who was part of the US podi- who brought her back to the United States and Silver: Sol Rojas (VEN) Silver: (GBR) especially being a marathoner,” McFadden said um sweeps in the 1500 and 5000 meters. Up raised her with her longtime partner, Bridget Bronze: Terezinha Guilhermina (BRA) Bronze: Sergio Froes Ribeiro De Oliva (BRA) after she closed hard but failed to catch China’s next is the 800 later. O’Shaughnessey, in Maryland. Liu Wenjun on Sept. 9. “The 100 is really, really On Thursday, McFadden was awarded the 1500m - T20 Individual Freestyle Test - Grade Ib hard, so I was really proud with a silver.” REFRESHING Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, given to Gold: Barbara Niewiedzial (POL) Gold: (GBR) The other tough moment came Thursday, The marathon, one of the Paralympics’ final the male and female athletes who best exemplify Silver: Ilona Biacsi (HUN) Silver: Pepo Puch (AUT) Bronze: Liudmyla Danylina (UKR) Bronze: Stinna Kaastrup (DEN) when McFadden’s 4 X 400-meter relay team lost events, is where McFadden has been most suc- the spirit of the Paralympic Games and the to China and then got disqualified for a lane vio- cessful in her career. Since coming in ninth place Paralympic values. 800 m - T33/34 Individual Freestyle Test - Grade II lation. The highlights came in between, as in the event in the 2012 Paralympics, she has McFadden doesn’t shy away from document- Gold: (GBR) Gold: Natasha Baker (GBR) McFadden staged her own mini-gold rush. completed the marathon grand slam, winning ing her life on social media, from her family, to Silver: Alexa Halko (USA) Silver: Rixt Van Der Horst (NED) McFadden nabbed her first gold of the games Boston, London, Chicago and New York all in the her training. And with the Paralympics coming to Bronze: (GBR) Bronze: Steffen Zeibig (GER) in the 400 meters last Sunday, over a second same calendar year. a close on Sunday, shortly after the marathon ahead of the silver medalist, her teammate Cheri She was the first person - able-bodied or oth- medal ceremony, she is hopeful that the momen- Long Jump - T11 Individual Freestyle Test - Grade III Madsen. From there, she continued her domi- erwise - to do so. And she went on to do it three tum created by the games will continue. Gold: Silvania Costa De Oliveira (BRA) Gold: Sanne Voets (NED) nance with her teammates in the 1500 and 5000, years in a row. “I love telling my story and putting it on social Silver: Fatimata Brigitte Diasso (CIV) Silver: Ann Cathrin Lubbe (NOR) with the United States sweeping the podium in Deborah McFadden has seen her daughter’s media and having people just go ‘wow,’” Bronze: Lorena Salvatini Spoladore (BRA) Bronze: Louise Etzner Jakobsson (SWE) both events. prominence grow immensely since London. McFadden said. “And having coverage on TV is Shot Put - F33 Individual Freestyle Test - Grade IV As part of an international sporting festival After growing up in a generation where people huge for us back in the States, so I think having it Gold: Asmahan Boudjadar (ALG) Gold: Michele George (BEL) that is among the world’s biggest, yet gets little with disabilities were almost hidden, Deborah grow that way in popularity is huge for us and it’s Silver: Sara Hamdi Masoud (QAT) Silver: (GBR) attention in the United States, McFadden has finds it refreshing. a plus. Hopefully it’ll just keep growing, growing, Bronze: Sara Alsenaani (UAE) Bronze: Frank Hosmar (NED) become an established name. With sponsorships “Things are changing, but we haven’t had a growing.” — AP

PARALYMPICS MEDALS TABLE

RIO DE JANEIRO: Paralympics medals following Friday’s events: Gold Silver Bronze Total Serbia 3 1 4 8 Kenya 3 0 2 5 China 94 74 49 217 Malaysia 3 0 1 4 Great Britain 58 33 35 126 Colombia 2 4 8 14 Ukraine 38 33 35 106 United Arab Emirates 2 3 1 6 United States 36 39 29 104 Iraq 2 3 0 5 Australia 17 26 25 68 Hong Kong 2 2 2 6 Germany 15 21 13 49 Croatia 2 2 1 5 Netherlands 13 18 24 55 Morocco 2 2 1 5 Brazil 12 25 23 60 India 2 1 1 4 Italy 9 13 12 34 Lithuania 2 1 0 3 New Zealand 9 5 5 19 Latvia 2 0 1 3 Nigeria 8 2 2 12 Singapore 2 0 1 3 Poland 7 16 11 34 Hungary 1 8 9 18 Canada 7 9 8 24 Azerbaijan 1 6 2 9 Spain 7 8 7 22 Sweden 1 4 5 10 Iran 7 8 6 21 Austria 1 4 2 7 Uzbekistan 7 6 17 30 Czech Republic 1 2 3 6 Belarus 7 0 2 9 Denmark 1 2 3 6 South Korea 6 9 15 30 Namibia 1 2 1 4 Tunisia 6 6 6 18 Switzerland 1 2 1 4 Thailand 6 5 6 17 Argentina 1 1 2 4 France 6 4 14 24 Vietnam 1 1 2 4 South Africa 6 4 4 14 Kazakhstan 1 1 0 2 Greece 5 4 4 13 Slovenia 1 1 0 2 Slovakia 5 3 3 11 Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 0 2 Algeria 4 5 7 16 Bahrain 1 0 0 1 Belgium 4 3 2 9 Bulgaria 1 0 0 1 Ireland 4 3 2 9 Georgia 1 0 0 1 Mexico 4 1 8 13 Kuwait 1 0 0 1 Cuba 4 1 6 11 Japan 0 8 11 19 Egypt 3 5 3 11 Venezuela 0 3 3 6 Norway 3 2 3 8 Jordan 0 2 1 3 Turkey 3 1 5 9 Qatar 0 2 0 2 RIO DE JANEIRO: In this photo released by the IOC, Samir Nouioua of Algeria celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men’s 1500m - final during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday. — AP