The NZ Paralympic Team gave “Something to Talk About” as Paralympian #195 Anna Grimaldi claimed the long-awaited first gold medal for New Zealand at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with an electrifying victory in the Women’s 200m T47.
Stunning onlookers with her total dominance, Grimaldi dismantled the Oceania record for the second time today powering to gold in a scintillating 24.72 to secure her second medal at Paris 2024 following her bronze in the Women’s 100m T47 and a third Paralympic gold of her stellar career.
What is more remarkable is the performance came the day after the disappointment of the Dunedin-based athlete finished 1cm shy of the podium in the defence of her Women’s Long Jump T47 title and she entered the 200m with few expectations and with a pre-event PB of 25.87. However, she laid down a huge marker in the heats by obliterating her previous PB of 0.78 to set an Oceania record in 25.09 to lead the qualifiers into the medal race.
Competing in one of the final track events on the athletics programme at Paris 2024 she made a great start from lane seven, although probably trailed the quick-starting American Brittni Mason for the first 50m or so. However, she entered the home straight with a clear advantage and from there the 27-year-old was simply majestic extending her lead and crossing the line for a dominant victory from Mason in silver (25.18). Sasirawan Inthachot of Thailand grabbed bronze in 25.20 but the race was all about Grimaldi who joined Eve Rimmer and Dame Sophie Pascoe as the only other female Kiwi Paralympians to win gold medals at three successive Paralympic Games.
An ecstatic Grimaldi said of the turnaround since the disappointment of the long jump to the elation of the 200m: “It has been a strange 48 hours. I try not to prep for the outcome, but I think yesterday was a shock. It is never out of the realm of possibility to come fourth, but it was a shock. More than that it was a shock because of the prep that we had done, how good I had been feeling in myself and my confidence. My long jumping has improved and it was a hard pill to swallow that I am a great long jumper but yesterday I didn’t get to show it.”
“Part of me was nervous for this (the 200m) because I haven’t done many, I didn’t know how to run one. We only spoke about tactics five minutes before call room. After the heat I knew if I could hold it together, I could run a really good time but I didn’t know that good! Everyone thinks there would be a huge amount of disappointment after the long jump but I think the journey I’ve been on from Rio to Tokyo where I struggled, happy to be here happy and healthy that really showed up just to be here today and yesterday. It has been really freeing and I ran freely today.”
The dream of Paralympian #164 Cameron Leslie to pick up a medal eight years after last climbing the podium at the Paralympic Games fell agonisingly short as he finished fourth in the final of the Men’s 50m Backstroke S4.
Having qualified second quickest from the morning heats in a time of 43.05 expectations were high that the 34-year-old Para sport legend could claim a medal in his fourth and final event at Paris 2024.
However, he could not quite repeat that performance in the final and will be disappointed he could not quite execute the race he desired, recording a time of 44.20.
With races over one length of the pool often requiring everything to run smoothly he was always just shy of medal contention and although he was closing in on Arnost Petracek he ran out of water and the athlete from Czechia held on to take bronze in a time of 43.96.
Out front, Roman Zhdanov – a Neutral Paralympic Athlete – successfully defended his title from Tokyo 2020 to stop the clock in 42.30 – 0.40 clear of the silver medallist Angel de Jesus Camacho Ramirez of Mexico.
Leslie, the three-time Paralympic champion, performed with distinction in Paris 2024 making four finals and placing fourth in two events (he was also fourth in the Men’s Freestyle 50m S4).
The father-of-three said: “The heat went really well, a good time and tonight’s final and the changes we talked about I think I executed, but something wasn’t there, the finish was terrible and ultimately it is the finish is what decided third and fourth.”
“I feel a bit annoyed to be honest like I hate getting hung on outcome goals, but it (a medal) is something I really wanted but it just didn’t pan out right. The sport moves forward there are some new people coming through in the S4 classification. I’m a little bit annoyed, little bit gutted with the outcomes but really cool to have family here and to be able to showcase Para sport to them.”
On the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games he said: “Paris is the loudest crowd I’ve ever competed in, amazingly supportive, slightly intimidating but epic. In terms of the whole experience it has been cool. It would take a lot to beat the London (2012) Games, but this has beaten it this week.”
Paralympian #198 Scott Martlew, who had qualified so impressively into the A final of the Men’s 200m KL2 on Friday NZT, had to settle for fifth in the final clocking a time of 42.82.
The 31-year-old Para canoeist from Christchurch did not quite make the start he would have wanted and was always playing catch up for the remainder of the race at the Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium.
Unfortunately, the Kiwi who was competing at his third Paralympic Games could not quite haul himself into the medal picture and had to settle for a place outside the medal dais.
Gold was secured by Aussie Para canoe maestro Curtis McGrath who powered to a hat-trick of Paralympic titles in this event flashing past the finish line in 41.31 – more than a second clear of Great Britain’s David Phillipson who grabbed silver (42.43). Bronze went to the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mykola Syniuk of Ukraine in 42.61.
The Kiwi, who finished fourth in this final at Tokyo 2020, said: “I was happy yesterday to qualify directly to the final which meant I didn’t have to do compete in the semi-finals. I was in a good space and feeling confident, but I didn’t have a great start out of the blocks and was playing catch up. I managed to refocus and stick to my race plan I was just a little bit too far behind unfortunately.”
On paddling quicker today than he did in the heat he said: “Everyone lifts for the final it is such a quality field out there. Every year it seems to get more competitive and congrats to the guys. What you always want is a tough final and that’s what we had.”
Paralympian #208 Will Stedman capped a memorable Paris 2024 in style by posting a national record time of 12.35 to place sixth in the Men’s 100m T36 final. The Cantabrian, who earlier in the programme smashed his New Zealand record to win Men’s 400m T36 silver and who also placed fourth in the Men’s Long Jump T36, trailed in the early stage but drawing upon his renowned strength he finished strongly to trim 0.05 from his New Zealand record mark which was set in Switzerland last year.
Out front, in an exhilarating dash for the line, James Turner of Australia, who claimed victory ahead of Stedman in the 400m, added a second gold medal to his collection at Paris 2024 by equalling the Paralympic record in 11.85. Alexis Sebastian Chavez of Argentina and China’s Yifei Yang were credited with a time of 11.88, although it was Chavez who was awarded the silver medal on a photo-finish.
Stedman said of his performance: “It felt a lot better than last night, although it was only a bit faster. It is nice to get a PB which was cool, I felt the start was better. Maybe from 30m to 50m wasn’t quite good but I came home strong. It has been a bit week too. I’m tired, so I can’t complain with a PB in my final race.”
On his Paris 2024 campaign he said: “I’m still processing the last few days. I have definitely had the best preparation of any campaign. I’m disappointed with the long jump, I think there is a much bigger jump in there but having said that my jumping is not super consistent yet, so there is heaps of room to improve. I’m excited and super, super happy with how I went in the 400m with no sleep (the night before) so to run a big PB and get a silver medal, I’m super proud with that. The 100m was a nice bonus at the end.”
Paralympic debutant Mitch Joynt enjoyed an excellent outing to place sixth in the final of the Men’s 200m T64, recording a time of 23.16 – within 0.01 of his lifetime best. The double Para World Athletics Championships bronze medallist in this event comfortably qualified third from his morning heat in a handy 23.20 and in a high-class final the 29-year-old Aucklander acquitted himself with pride.
With the back end of the race his traditional strength he entered the home straight some way down on the lead contenders but finished with a typical late surge to place sixth can take satisfaction from his debut appearance in the red-hot cauldron of Paralympic Games competition.
Sherman Isidro Guity Guity of Costa Rica was unstoppable in the final blitzing to a Paralympic record of 21.32 to complete the Men’s 100m T64 and Men’s 200m T64 double. Levi Vloet of the Netherlands took silver in a PB of 22.47 with South African Mpumelelo Mhlongo of South Africa taking bronze in a T44 world record mark of 22.62.
Joynt said: “The final is bittersweet. I’m proud to be in the final and to come so close to a PB is good but you always wonder could I also have run a bit quicker, got a PB and a national record. But I am stoked to have made the final, to have represented New Zealand and made it to a Paralympics. Just getting to the start line was a challenge itself.
“The race went well. I ran a good bend in the heat this morning and this evening in the final but the back-to-back races I didn’t have that last five percent in that final 20-30 metres. I backed up pretty well, I ran quicker than I did in the heat, and I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Gabriella Smith signed off her competitive programme at Paris 2024 in style by placing eighth in the final of the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 clocking a time of 2:41.19.
The 18-year-old Cantabrian, the youngest member of the NZ Paralympic Team, produced her best performance of the Games in her heat swim, slashing 0.86 from her lifetime best recording 2:38.82 to place fourth and advance seventh fastest for the final. The teenager could not quite repeat that performance in the final but caught the eye in this event to suggest the future is very bright for the Rangi Ruru Girls’ School student.
Victory in the final went to Meng Zhang of China, who powered by a destructive breaststroke power snared gold in an Asian record time of 2:26.81 from Bianka Pap of Hungary (2:29.02). Bronze went to Tatyana Lebrun of Belgium in 2:32.79.
Smith, who originally placed seventh in the final after the disqualification of made two finals at Paris 2024, said: “Being the last day the goal was to just swim my best. It is a long meet, ten days and the 200m IM is one of my favourite events. I was not ranked the highest, but it is a race where you just need to put your head in, do your turns and skills and drills and executed well. This morning (in the heats) I was lucky enough to do that, although the time was a little slower in the final, I am exceptionally happy I made it into the final. It boosted my happiness after an interesting 400m free (where Gaby did not make the final) the other day, this was redemption. I’m happy with the overall performance.”
On her general experience at Paris 2024 she said: “I don’t know if you can put it into words. The crowd say your name they are screaming at you, it takes your breath away. Even though I am not from France the crowd don’t care they are happy to support you no matter what. It is a breathtaking experience.”
The only NZ Paralympic Team athletes in action on the final day of competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are Para canoeists Scott Martlew and Peter Cowan who line up in the semi-finals of the Men’s 200m VL3 tonight (Sunday 8 September) hunting a place in the final which follow later tonight.
For a full guide of when to watch the Kiwis and other Paris 2024 related information go here.
