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Medals on offer in Paralympic athletics and cycling but Seine dealt blow / Photo: © AFP
Medals on offer in Paralympic athletics and cycling but Seine dealt blow
Athletics, track cycling and swimming feature at the Paralympics on Saturday as multiple medal-winning wheelchair racers Marcel Hug and David Weir do battle but preparations for the triathlon events were dogged by recurrent concerns about the water of the River Seine.
The final training session for Sunday's triathlons that had been due to take place on Saturday morning was cancelled "as a precaution" after heavy rain in the French capital which can stir up pollution.
The para-triathletes managed to fit in two training sessions in the Seine this week before the rain arrived.
"This decision was taken as a precaution," Paris 2024 organisers said in a statement released on Friday. "Despite the latest laboratory results which show the water quality is good, it is probable that the rain could have an impact tomorrow morning."
The 11 separate triathlon events were initially to have been spread over two days but the decision had already been taken to have them all on one day.
The water quality of the Seine also dogged the Olympics, although the triathlons and marathon swimming events did eventually go ahead.
China further stretched its lead at the top of the medals table in early action on Saturday as archer Chen Minyi retained her women's individual W1 title by beating Sarka Pultar Musilova of the Czech Republic in the final at the Invalides.
The Chinese team's 14th gold medal of the Games came through javelin thrower Yuping Zhao, who set a world record of 47.06 metres in the F12 category for athletes with a visual impairment.
The Chinese have topped the medal standings at every Paralympics since Athens in 2004 and show no signs of relinquishing that record after a strong start in Paris.
Britain were second in the medals table at the start of the day and were hoping to pick up a second title as many days from track cyclist Jaco van Gass in the men's C1-3 1,000m time trial final, but he fell out of medal contention.
Van Gass beat British team-mate Fin Graham in the men's C3 3,000m individual pursuit final on Friday despite being involved in a car crash in Paris last week.
"We went through significant concussion protocols, I took a day off to let my body settle, then I was back on the bike," he said.
"I was heartbroken, I literally thought this could be my Paralympics done."
In other highlights on Saturday:
-- The USA men's basketball squad will aim for two wins out of two games when they face the Netherlands as they continue their bid to win the title for the third Games in a row.
-- On the track at the Stade de France, long-time rivals Marcel Hug and David Weir face off in the final of the men's 5000m T54 event. Swiss racer Hug is the reigning champion from Tokyo but Briton Weir will try to win his first medal of any colour since he won a total of six golds at the 2008 and 2012 Games.
M. Andrade--JDB
