Track para-cycling secures the first gold

The first gold medal of the Paralympics was claimed by Dutch para-cyclist Caroline Groot, who took the podium in the women's 500m C4-5 time trial. Behind Groot, French cyclist Marie Patouillet finished second, receiving strong support from the local crowd as she raced towards her silver medal.

“It was amazing seeing so many people holding pictures of my face in the crowd. When we compete or train here normally there are no people, so to have so many here was magic. It is just incredible to win here. This is a memory I will have for life,” said Patouillet.

China had a successful day at the Vélodrome National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, with three medals, including gold in both the men's and women's 3,000m individual pursuit C1 events for Wang Xiaomei and Li Zhangyu.

"When I won silver (in Tokyo), I felt I was improving, but I still hadn’t claimed gold," said Wang. "In the past, maybe I lacked experience in major competitions. I learned from my races in world events. Today, I was able to shine."

Italy leads in the pool

Italy started strongly at the Arena de La Defense in Paris, securing eight medals on the first day of competition, two of them gold. Carlotta Gilli successfully defended her Tokyo gold in the 100m butterfly S13, followed by Francesco Bocciardo’s victory in the men’s 200m freestyle S5 final.

“I am very happy about this competition,” said Gilli. "I always say that to win is difficult, but to repeat the win is more difficult. It’s fantastic, it’s a dream, and to do it with my family and friends who are here is amazing.”

Bocciardo, competing in his fourth Paralympic Games, set a new Paralympic record with a time of 2:25.99. "I’m very happy to have broken the Paralympic record. I didn’t believe I could do it at my age. I knew it would be very difficult, and to win this race, I needed to be faster than I’ve ever been.”

The host nation secured its first gold medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, with Ugo Didier taking gold in the men’s 400m freestyle S9 final, finishing ahead of Simone Barlaam. "It was a tactical battle. He (Barlaam, silver medallist) beat me three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, and today it was my turn," said Didier.

Khudadadi makes history

History was made at the Grand Palais as the para-taekwondo competition began, with Zakia Khudadadi, who lives and trains in France, becoming the first athlete from the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal, taking bronze in the women’s K44 -47kg event. “I’m so, so happy today,” said Khudadadi. "For me, this medal is a dream. Today, I am in a dream.”

Peruvian Leonor Angelica Espinoza Carranza became a double gold medallist, defending her Tokyo title by defeating Uzbek Ziyodakhon Isakova 10-4 in the women’s K44 -47kg event. "At first, it was happiness," said Espinoza about her emotions after the victory. "Then I felt very calm because I knew and realised I had achieved it. I’m very happy."

Young table tennis star wins bronze

Fourteen-year-old Bly Twomey won bronze for Great Britain alongside her doubles partner Felicity Pickard after losing to China’s Huang Wenjuan and Jin Yucheng in the WD14 semi-finals. “I didn’t think we would do it. It means a lot. When I first started table tennis, I didn’t think I’d be at the Paris Paralympics. I’m really proud to be here, and with Felic (Pickard), it’s just amazing.”

Paris 2024 is also the first Paralympic Games for Pickard, a para-table tennis athlete. "It’s incredible. We’ve come a long way," said Pickard. "I’ve had a mental battle with myself. I know I have the strongest mind. My biggest opponent is myself. Bly and the team staff have been incredible in getting me here." Norwegian pair Aida Husic Dahlen and Merethe Tveiten also won bronze after losing their semi-final 3-2 to Germany’s Stephanie Grebe and Juliane Wolf.

Day 1 Full Podiums:

TRACK PARA-CYCLING

500m Time Trial - Women - C4-5 - Final
Gold: Caroline Groot (NED)
Silver: Marie Patouillet (FRA)
Bronze: Kate O'Brien (CAN)

3,000m Individual Pursuit - Men - C1 - Final
Gold: Li Zhangyu (CHN)
Silver: Liang Weicong (CHN)
Bronze: Ricardo Ten Argilés (ESP)

3,000m Individual Pursuit - Women - C1-3 - Final
Gold: Wang Xiaomei (CHN)
Silver: Daphne Schrager (GBR)
Bronze: Flurina Rigling (SUI)

4,000m Individual Pursuit - Men - B - Final
Gold: Tristan Bangma (NED)
Silver: Steve Bate (GBR)
Bronze: Lorenzo Bernard (ITA)

PARA-SWIMMING

400m Freestyle - Men - S9 Final
Gold: Ugo Didier (FRA)
Silver: Simone Barlaam (ITA)
Bronze: Brenden Hall (AUS)

400m Freestyle - Women - S9 Final
Gold: Zsofia Konkoly (HUN)
Silver: Lakeisha Patterson (AUS)
Bronze: Vittoria Bianco (ITA)

100m Backstroke - Men - S1 Final
Gold: Kamil Otowski (POL)
Silver: Anton Kol (UKR)
Bronze: Francesco Bettella (ITA)

100m Backstroke - Men - S2 Final
Gold: Gabriel Geraldo Dos Santos Araujo (BRA)
Silver: Vladimir Danilenko (NPA)
Bronze: Alberto Caroly Abarza Díaz (CHI)

100m Backstroke - Women - S2 Final
Gold: Pin Xiu Yip (SGP)
Silver: Haidee Viviana Aceves Pérez (MEX)
Bronze: Angela Procida (ITA)

100m Butterfly - Men - S14 Final
Gold: Alexander Hillhouse (DEN)
Silver: William Ellard (GBR)
Bronze: Gabriel Bandeira (BRA)

100m Butterfly - Women - S14 Final
Gold: Poppy Maskill (GBR)
Silver: Chan Yui Lam (CHN)
Bronze: Valeriia Shabalina (NPA)

50m Breaststroke - Men - SB3 Final
Gold: Suzuki Takayuki (JPN)
Silver: Effrem Morelli (ITA)
Bronze: Miguel Luque (ESP)

50m Freestyle - Women - S6 Final
Gold: Jiang Yuyan (CHN)
Silver: Ellie Marks (USA)
Bronze: Anna Hontar (UKR)

50m Freestyle - Men - S10 Final
Gold: Thomas Gallagher (AUS)
Silver: Phelipe Andrews Melo Rodrigues (BRA)
Bronze: Rowan Crothers (AUS)

50m Freestyle - Women - S10 Final
Gold: Chen Yi (CHN)
Silver: Christie Raleigh-Crossley (USA)
Bronze: Aurelie Rivard (CAN)

100m Butterfly - Men - S13 Final
Gold: Ihar Boki (NPA)
Silver: Alex Portal (FRA)
Bronze: Enrique José Alhambra Mollar (ESP)

100m Butterfly - Women - S13 Final
Gold: Carlotta Gilli (ITA)
Silver: Grace Nuhper (USA)
Bronze: Muslima Odilova (UZB)

200m Freestyle - Men - S5 Final
Gold: Francesco Bocciardo (ITA)
Silver: Kirill Pulver (NPA)
Bronze: Oleksandr Komarov (UKR)

200m Freestyle - Women - S5 Final
Gold: Tully Kearney (GBR)
Silver: Iryna Poida (UKR)
Bronze: Monica Boggioni (ITA)

PARA-TAEKWONDO

-47kg - Women’s K44 Final (#143)
Gold: Leonor Angélica Espinoza Carranza (PER)
Silver: Ziyodakhon Isakova (UZB)
Bronze: Khwansuda Phuangkitcha (THA)
Bronze: Zakia Khudadadi (RPT)

-58kg - Men’s K44 Final (#144)
Gold: Asaf Yasur (ISR)
Silver: Ali Can Ozcan (TUR)
Bronze: Sabir Zeynalov (AZE)
Bronze: Xiao Xiang Wen (TPE)

-52kg - Women’s K44 Final (#145)
Gold: Surenjav Ulambayard (MGL)
Silver: Zahra Rahimi (IRI)
Bronze: Ana Japaridze (GEO)
Bronze: Meryem Betul Cavdar (TUR)

PARA-TABLE TENNIS

Women’s Doubles WD14
Bronze: Merethe Tveiten and Aida Dahlen (NOR)
Bronze: Bly Twomey and Felicity Pickard (GBR)