Tatyana McFadden is looking to complete her ‘hat-trick
LONDON, England ● The golden moments continue on Day 9 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games as athletes compete for medals in nine different sports.
Goalball is set to crown its Paralympic champions as the competition draws to a close, with Brazil and China looking favourites for gold in the men’s and women’s events respectively.
Brazil repeated their pool-stage achievement by defeating Lithuania – a team who had notched a staggering 45 London 2012 goals prior to the semi-finals – to reach the men’s final.
Opponents Finland have bounced back from losing their first three games of the competition to go on a remarkable run to the gold-medal match.
Beijing 2008 silver medallists China have been a dominant force in the women’s event and have rarely looked in danger of losing a match, comfortably claiming victory in each of their group and knockout encounters.
Chinese players Chen Fengqing and Wang Shasha top the competition’s goalscoring charts with 12 and 11 respectively, while their final opponents Japan have only scored 11 goals between them.
In a repeat of four years ago, the USA will meet China in the final of the women’s Sitting Volleyball. China won on that occasion and will be considered favourites for gold once again having already beaten their rivals 3-1 in a Pool B match.
Women’s Wheelchair Basketball produced one of Day 8’s most thrilling moments as Australia edged out reigning Paralympic champions USA with a 40-39 scoreline to reach the gold-medal match.
The Beijing bronze medallists’ final opponents will be 2008 runners up Germany, who themselves had to come through a hard-fought semi-final encounter, defeating the Netherlands 49-46.
On another busy night at the Olympic Stadium, USA athlete Tatyana McFadden will be looking to make it three out of three as she aims to add women’s 1500m – T54 gold to the 400m and 800m titles she already has.
The 23-year-old finished third in her heat, little more than 12 hours after her golden exploits the night before, and knows the importance of rest to her hopes of winning medals in all five of her events.
‘It’s going to be an extremely tough final,’ she said. ‘I need to get lots of rest as I have more races to come.’
At the Aquatics Centre, Jessica Long of the USA is hoping to cap a successful Games by helping her team to victory in the women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay – 34 Points.
Medals will also be handed out in Road Cycling, Table Tennis, Wheelchair Tennis and Wheelchair Fencing.