Medals, records and landmarks for NZ
Sophie Pascoe’s quest for respect
Sophie Pascoe has become New Zealand’s most successful Paralympian of all time, on a golden day for the team in Rio yesterday.
Kiwi Blade Runner Liam Malone broke Oscar Pistorius’ Paralympics record to win gold in the men’s 200m T44 final, to add to the silver he won in the 100m at the weekend.
Para-swimmmer Cameron Leslie smashed his own world record by two seconds to win his third consecutive Paralympics gold medal in the 150m individual medley SM4 final. championship success.
That gave her the mainstream acceptance she craved for herself and, more importantly, Paralympics sport.
Pascoe later blasted the Halberg organisers for ‘‘segregating’’ disabled sportspeople in a separate category. She pledged to keep pushing for ‘‘disabled sport to be treated equally’’.
‘‘Equalisation means everything to me because I don’t treat anyone with a disability differently. I’m openminded and I want others to be, too.
‘‘I want to be a person who leaves a legacy for people with disabilities in New Zealand.
‘‘I don’t want to be remembered as Sophie Pascoe the swimmer.
‘‘I’d like to be remembered for what I did in and out of the pool.’’
Her record breaking swims in Rio, London and Beijing have got people talking about the Paralympics around workplace water coolers throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand has other Paralympic heroes - Mary Fisher, Cameron Leslie, Anna Grimaldi and Blade Runner Liam Malone - but noone has done so much to advance the movement’s cause than a girl whose life changed irrevocably 21 years ago. ❚ Tony Smith, Fairfax’s South Island sports bureau chief, coauthored
But Pascoe’s ninth gold - her third of the Rio Games - takes her ahead of Rimmer, who won eight golds, five silvers and one bronze.
‘‘It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. But look, all I do is go out and race my heart out and challenge myself every day to challenge the rest of the world. That’s what I love and I do what I love,’’ said Pascoe.
New Zealand’s first gold of the day came when Leslie broke his own world record in the men’s 150 individual medley SM4, which is his third consecutive title in the event after gold in the 2012 and 2008 Games, in London and Beijing. Leslie, who has a quadruple limb deficiency, led from the front and raced clear to win at a canter with an astonishing time of 2:23.12. He qualified fastest and finished first ahead of China’s Zhipeng Jin and Denmark’s Jonas Larsen, who won silver and bronze respectively.
Malone’s dash for gold saw him clock a time of 21.06s, which beat the Paralympics record formerly held by Pistorius, with America’s Hunter Woodhall and Germany’s David Behre finishing on 21.12s and 21.41s respectively, to take out silver and bronze.
World No 1 Howarth then won New Zealand’s fourth medal of the day with bronze in the women’s 50m butterfly S7 with a time of 35.97s, after qualifying fastest for the final. Britain’s Susannah Rodgers won gold with 35.07s, just ahead of America’s Cortney Jordan, who claimed silver.
Howarth, who was born without hands, was the reigning world champion in the event but her strongest stroke is still to come. She races for gold in the women’s 200m individual medley SM7 today.
Mary Fisher won her women’s 50m freestyle S11 heat in a time of 31.35, qualifying third-fastest for the final. But she couldn’t add to the gold she won in the 100m backstroke S11, and finished sixth.
Paralympics debutant William Stedman set a Paralympic record of 5.35m on his first attempt in the men’s long jump T36, surpassing his personal best by 13cm, but his record was bettered and he finished fifth.
New Zealand’s youngest team member, 15-year-old Tupou Neiufi, made her Paralympic debut in the women’s 100m freestyle S9, finishing her heat seventh, while 16-year-old Hamish Mclean finished fifth in his heat in the men’s 200m individual medley SM6.
Jacob Phillips finished eighth in the men’s 200m T35 final - his second final of the Games - with a time of 29.10s.
Para-sailors Richard Dodson, Andrew May and Chris Sharp made a promising start to their 11-race campaign.
The Sonar sailors opened with an eighth but won the second race to lie second.