Key events
Vladyslav Yepifanov of Ukraine wins gold in the VL3 Va’a single 200m
Jack Eyers of GB takes silver and Peter Cowan of NZ the bronze.
Now it’s Yepifanov, the champ comes from behind to lead Eyers, McGrath is nowhere…
Yepifanov is out quickly but Yi leads and Eyers moves into second…
We’re ready for our VL3 Va’a final, Yepifanov of Ukraine and Mcgrath of Australia the dangers to Eyers. And off we go!
Eyers, by the way, was 2017’s Mr England and the first amputee to earn that coveted title; he also models.
Coming up in 10 minutes: Jack Eyers goes in the final of the VL3 Va’a single 200m. He set a Paralympic record earlier this morning in his semi, but having come from behind to win, what does he have left?
We’re watching the KL2 medal ceremony and Wiggs is so delighted – it’s glorious to behold. Now Henshaw accepts her gold, saluting the crowd like this is routine behaviour – which for her it kind of is. Mazal tov to all.
It’s so great to see Sugar and Barbosa celebrate together. Sugar simply couldn’t be beaten, but Barbosa made damn sure she won the race within the race for second.
Sugar was out quickly and no one could live with her. Barbosa, though, did brilliantly to hang on for silver, conjuring the race of her life when it mattered most in front of her home crowd.
Laura Sugar of GB wins gold in the women’s KL3 kayak single 200m in a Paralympic Games record time of 46.66s
Nelia Barbosa of France takes a very popular silver, with Felicia Laberer of Germany bronze. Hope Gordon is fifth.
Sugar is going to win again for GB!
Sugar leads and looks awesome! Barbosa of France is behind but she’s not gaining!
Our women are on the water for the KL3 200m final. Laura Sugar looks ready.
Here he is!
Henshaw feels immense gratitude for the opportunity to be in Paris, “still hitting it out with the best in the world”. When she was a swimmer she only had one go at things and was looking forward to getting two shies, so winning two golds is great. She’s got loads of school friends out, who’re enjoying the party atmosphere; they and her family are the ones she calls crying after training, and they help get her head out of canoeing. She thanks the National Lottery for funding the training centre, the wind in Nottingham is helpful for the conditions in Paris.
Otherwise, she talks about having an injured elbow and getting it sorted – she’s grateful to those who persuaded her not to leave it – and finally, bravely, flags her problems with endometriosis, the condition one that mustn’t be forgotten.
So what’s left for us? We’ve got two more canoeing finals, at 11.15 and 11.41, both featuring Brits with medal expectations. Then, at 12.45 it’s the final of the women’s wheelchair basketball between the Netherlands and USA, and during which we’ll have two final powerlifting finals before we call it a day in advance of this evening’s closing ceremony. So let’s make sure we’re intentional in enjoying the sport we’ve got left because we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
I’m waiting for a photo, but Rufino de Paulo has quite the facial affair, massive thick sideboards into a moustache with a chin affair also going on. Not saying I couldn’t take him if I really had to.
Coming up at 11.15: Hope Gordon, winner of silver in the women’s VL3 Va’a Single 200m, and Laura Sugar, the defending champ, go in the final of the KL3 kayak single 200m. Sugar, who broke the games record on Friday, will take some stopping.
These are always so good.
Fernando Rufino de Paulo of Brazil wins gold in the men’s VL2 200m Va’a single
Igor Tofalini of Brazil takes silver and Blake Haxton of USA bronze – between them was just 0.03 of a second.
De Paulo leads by miles and no one’s going to stop him today or any day.
Righto, here comes the men’s 200m VL2 final, Edward Clifton going for GB … but de Paulo of Brazil leads, Tofalini of Brazil behind him.
“I’m so proud of you, you’re amazing, well done.” We hear Henshaw and Wiggs share a moment, and isn’t that lovely? Henshaw absolutely annihilated the field there, though spare a thought for Katalin Varga, who lost the run of things mid-race and, in the process, a medal – probably silver.
Tayana Medeiros of Brazil wins gold in the women’s up to 86kg with a Paralympic record of 156kg powerlifting
Zheng Feifei of China takes silver and Marion Serrano Guajardo of Chile bronze.
Charlotte Henshaw of GB wins gold in the women’s KL2 200m kayak single
Emma Wiggs of GB takes solver and Aja Adler of Germany bronze.
Henshaw powers away from the field, Varga losing it and Wiggs second…
Back on the water, we’re away in the final, Henshaw zooming in front! Varaga is second, Wiggs third!
Now then! Medeiros attacks 156, a new Olympic record, if she bangs it she takes the gold-medal position … and she does! she’s overcome, her team mobbing her, and what an effort! i said the gold was almost decided and it was, but … it wasn’t!
Chippington tells Channel 4 she’d like to get to LA in four years; of course she would. Incredible behaviour.
Meantime, Feifei is trying to break her own world record of 159kg … and she cannot. But she and Medeiros will now go into the extra round of powerlifts wth the gold still not quite settled; the Brazilian is going for 156kg and if she nails it she wins!
Back to the women’s T12 marathon, El Idrissi finished time ago in a world-record time, and we can now confirm that Meryem En-Nourhi of Morocco takes siolver and Elena Congost of Spain bronze.
Henshaw, by the way, is the defending champion. But Wiggs is also an Olympic champ, and though Susan Seipel of Australia will have something to say, those two could easily contest the gold.
Back to the powerlifting, Zhang still leads on 155; I can’t see Medeiros, now on 142, bettering that, so the gold is almost decided.
Not long to go now! At 10.41, Wiggs and Henshaw will go in the final of the KL2 200m.
Katherinne Wollermann of Chile wins gold in the women’s KL1 200m kayak single
Maryna Mazhula of Ukraine takes silver and Edina Mueller of germany bronze. Chippington is seventh.
Mazhula of Ukrainie passes Wollermann who comes back at her!
They’re on the line … and off they go! Wollermann of Chile leads, Chippigton off it.
Just to give you a sense of her ridiculousness, Chippington won swimming golds in … 1996. I was 17 then, I’m 45 now, which I say just to give some scale to dedication and excellence that’s so immense it can be hard to grasp.
At 54, Jeanette Chippington is the oldest athlete in the GB team, and she will shortly go in the final of the KL1 canoeing – they’re scheduled to go off two minutes from now.
Fatima El Idrissi of Morocco wins the women’s T12 marathon in a world record time of 2:48.36
She has taken the field apart.
Fatima El Idrissi comes around the final corner on the verge of tears and rightly so. She’s going to win gold for Morocco and she’s going to devastate the world record too. She punches the air, and what a moment this is!
Also going on:
We’re just watching Jack Eyers go in the second semi of the men’s VL3 Va’a 200m sprint; he’s paddling like billy-o and he comes from behind to win in a Paralympic Games best of 48.59. The final is at 11.41.
Fatima El Idrissi will soon be the women’s T12 marathon champion. She’s eight or so minutes ahead of her teammate, Meryem En-Nourhi.
Back at the powerlifting, Zhang Feifei of China now leads with 150kg, ahead of Brazil’s Tayana Medeiros, on 137.
Then, in the KL2 final at 10.41, Charlotte Henshaw – the defending champ and VL3 200m champ – goes, likewise Emma Wiggs, who won the VL2 event. That should be a race.
Jeanette Chippington, the queen of the para-canoe, had a disappointment in yesterday’s VL2 200m, but she goes again in the KL1 final at 10.25am; stand by for that one.
Wajdi Boukhili of Tunisia wins gold on the T12 men’s marathon
Alberto Suarez Laso of Spain takes silver and El Amin Chentouf of Morocco the bronze.
Here comes Boukhili and he’s got a finger aloft, now a full arm! He’s going to win the T12 men’s marathon in fantastic style!
We’ve had almost two rounds of the 86kg powerlifting. Randa Mahmoud of Egypt leads on 128, miles ahead of Mayagozel Ekeyeva of Turkmenistan who managed 107.