Speed was Brazil's forte

The first evening session of Para-athletics at the Stade de France saw Brazil’s Petrucio Ferreira, the fastest Paralympian in the world, claim the title in the 100m T47. Ferreira, who set a world record with a time of 10.29 seconds in 2022, secured his third consecutive Paralympic gold after successes in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 with a time of 10.68 seconds. “I’m happy, lightning has struck for the third time at the Paralympics, and I’m going home with another medal. It’s a feeling hard to describe,” said Ferreira, who lost his left arm below the elbow in an accident at the age of two.

His compatriot Julio Cesar Agripino dos Santos took the first gold medal in Para-athletics at the French event by smashing the previous world record for the men's 5,000m T11 by over five seconds and topping the podium. “This moment, knowing I won the gold medal at the Games, is incredible. I can’t really describe it yet. It has to sink in,” said Dos Santos. “I might not have been the favourite, but I knew I had to give it my all to have a chance.”

Shooting sports welcomed a new champion and veteran

South Korea’s Jeongdu Jo won his first Paralympic gold medal in the P1 - 10m Air Pistol SH1 final. Jo’s score of 237.4 included a couple of 10.8s, surprising stars like Yang Chao, the Tokyo 2020 champion, and India’s Manish Narwal, the reigning world champion, to emerge victorious. “This doesn’t seem real. It’s not the same as training. You have to focus more and find your inner peace,” he said after the win.

Meanwhile, Slovenian shooter Francek Gorazd Tirsek claimed the top spot in the standing position with an air rifle (R4 category). This is his fifth Paralympic medal but his first gold. Tiršek was sixth in the preliminary round but quickly climbed the rankings to reach the elimination round. In the final, he defeated French competitor Tangyue de la Forest by 0.2 points with a new Paralympic record of 253.3. “The gold was still missing. I was often close and almost had it, but luck hadn’t been on my side. I truly fought for this success,” said Tirsek.

Australia and Great Britain shone in Swimming

Swimmer Tom Gallagher delivered Australia its first gold medal in Paris 2024 with a remarkable comeback after a severe pancreatitis. Gallagher triumphed in the men's 50m freestyle S10 final at the packed Arena La Defense with a time of 23.40 seconds. Gallagher’s final push allowed him to keep at bay a group of challengers, including fellow Australian Rowan Crothers. The win was particularly emotional for Gallagher, who had previously won bronze in Tokyo. “Being the first gold medal of the competition means a lot to me,” Gallagher said.

On the women’s side, British swimmer Tully Kearney stole the limelight with her second gold medal of these Games. Kearney, who won the gold medal in the 200m freestyle S5 on Thursday, returned to the podium by defending her title in the 100m freestyle. The 27-year-old swimmer was challenged in the first 50m by Iryna Poida but made a strong turn and pulled ahead in the next segment to win with a time of 1 minute 15.10 seconds. “There is pressure in defending a title. I’m just trying to enjoy it and remind myself that I’ve been at the top since 2018.”

No surprises in shot put

Tunisian Raoua Tlili won her fifth consecutive gold medal in shot put at the Stade de France. Her throw reached 10.40 metres, enough to claim victory in the F41 class for the third time at the Games. Her first two golds in shot put, in Beijing and London, were in the F40 class.

The athlete, who is 1.33 metres tall and 34 years old, is proud of her latest achievement. “It’s not easy to be a person of short stature and my age, especially when competing against opponents who are 22 or 25 years old,” said Tlili. “The Algerians and Tunisians living in Paris came to see me. I heard them say, ‘Raoua, Raoua, gold, gold.’”

Day 2 Full Podiums:

PARA-ATHLETICS

Discus Throw Women - F55, Final
Gold: Erica Maria Castano Salazar (COL)
Silver: Dong Feixia (CHN)
Bronze: Rose Maria Guerrero Cazares (MEX)

5000m Men - T11, Final
Gold: Julio Cesar Agripino Dos Santos (BRA)
Silver: Karasawa Kenya (JPN)
Bronze: Yeltsin Jacques (BRA)

Long Jump Women - T11, Final
Gold: Asila Mirzayorova (UZB)
Silver: Zhou Guohua (CHN)
Bronze: Alba Garcia Falagan (ESP)

Shot Put Women - F41, Final
Gold: Raoua Tlili (TUN)
Silver: Kubaro Khakimova (UZB)
Bronze: Antonella Ruiz Diaz (ARG)

Javelin Throw Men - F38, Final
Gold: Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas (COL)
Silver: Vladyslav Bilyi (UKR)
Bronze: An Dongquan (CHN)

100m Women - T35, Final
Gold: Zhou Xia (CHN)
Silver: Guo Qianqian (CHN)
Bronze: Preethi Pal (IND)

400m Men - T52, Final
Gold: Maxime Carabin (BEL)
Silver: Sato Tomoki (JPN)
Bronze: Ito Tomoya (JPN)

100m Men - T37, Final
Gold: Ricardo Gomes De Mendonca (BRA)
Silver: Saptoyogo Purnomo (INA)
Bronze: Andrei Vdovin (NPA)

100m Men - T47, Final
Gold: Petrucio Ferreira Dos Santos (BRA)
Silver: Korban Best (USA)
Bronze: Aymane El Haddaoui (MAR)

200m Women - T37, Final
Gold: Wen Xiaoyan (CHN)
Silver: Nataliia Kobzar (UKR)
Bronze: Jiang Fenfen (CHN)

Shot Put Men - F37, Final
Gold: Kudratillokhon Marufkujaev (UZB)
Silver: Ahmed Ben Moslah (TUN)
Bronze: Tolibboy Yuldashev (UZB)

Club Throw Women - F32, Final
Gold: Roza Kozakowska (POL)
Silver: Maroua Ibrahmi (TUN)
Bronze: Parastoo Habibi (IRI)

Shot Put Men - F55, Final
Gold: Ruzhdi Ruzhdi (BUL)
Silver: Nebojsa Duric (SRB)
Bronze: Lech Stoltman (POL)

Long Jump Men - T11, Final
Gold: Di Dongdong (CHN)
Silver: Chen Shichang (CHN)
Bronze: Joan Munar Martínez (ESP)

PARA-SWIMMING

100m Freestyle Men - S5 Final
Gold: Oleksandr Komarov (UKR)
Silver: Guo Jincheng (CHN)
Bronze: Kirill Pulver (NPA)

100m Freestyle Women - S5 Final
Gold: Tully Kearney (GBR)
Silver: Iryna Poida (UKR)
Bronze: Monica Boggioni (ITA)

100m Freestyle Men - S4 Final
Gold: Ami Omer Dadaon (ISR)
Silver: Suzuki Takayuki (JPN)
Bronze: Ángel De Jesús Camacho Ramírez (MEX)

200m Individual Medley Men - SM6 Final
Gold: Yang Hong (CHN)
Silver: Nelson Crispin Corzo (COL)
Bronze: Talisson Henrique Glock (BRA)

200m Individual Medley Women - SM6 Final
Gold: Maisie Summers-Newton (GBR)
Silver: Ellie Marks (USA)
Bronze: Liu Daomin (CHN)

400m Freestyle Men - S11 Final
Gold: David Kratochvil (CZE)
Silver: Rogier Dorsman (NED)
Bronze: Tomita Uchu (JPN)

400m Freestyle Women - S11 Final
Gold: Liesette Bruinsma (NED)
Silver: Zhang Xiaotong (CHN)
Bronze: Daria Lukianenko (NPA)

100m Breaststroke Men - SB9 Final
Gold: Stefano Raimondi (ITA)
Silver: Hector Denayer (FRA)
Bronze: Maurice Wetekam (GER)

100m Breaststroke Women - SB9 Final
Gold: Chantalle Zijderveld (NED)
Silver: Zhang Meng (CHN)
Bronze: Lisa Kruger (NED)

100m Backstroke Men - S13 Final
Gold: Ihar BOKI (NPA)
Silver: Vladimir Sotnikov (NPA)
Bronze: Alex Portal (FRA)

100m Backstroke Women - S13 Final
Gold: Gia Pergolini (USA)
Silver: Roisin Ni Riain (IRL)
Bronze: Carlotta Gilli (ITA)

100m Breaststroke Men - SB8 Final
Gold: Andrei Kalina (NPA)
Silver: Yang Guanglong (CHN)
Bronze: Carlos Daniel Serrano Zárate (COL)

100m Breaststroke Women - SB8 Final
Gold: Anastasiya Dmytriv Dmytriv (ESP)
Silver: Brock Whiston (GBR)
Bronze: Viktoriia Ishchiulova (NPA)

Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay - 20 Points Final
Gold: Brazil
Silver: China
Bronze: USA

PARA-TRACK CYCLING

Time Trial - 1000m - Men C4-5 - Final
Gold: Korey Boddington (AUS)
Silver: Blaine Hunt (GBR)
Bronze: Alfonso Cabello Llamas (ESP)

Individual Pursuit - 3000m - Women C4 - Final
Gold: Emily Petricola (AUS)
Silver: Anna Taylor (NZL)
Bronze: Keely Shaw (CAN)

Individual Pursuit - 3000m - Men C2 - Final
Gold: Alexandre Léauté (FRA)
Silver: Ewoud Vromant (BEL)
Bronze: Matthew Robertson (GBR)

Individual Pursuit - 3000m - Men C3 - Final
Gold: Jaco Van Gass (GBR)
Silver: Fin Graham (GBR)
Bronze: Alexandre Hayward (CAN)

Time Trial - 1000m - Women B - Final
Gold: Lizzi Jordan (GBR)
Silver: Jessica Gallagher (AUS)
Bronze: Sophie Unwin (GBR)

PARA-SHOOTING SPORTS

R2 - 10m Air Rifle Standing Women SH1 Final
Gold: Avani Lekhara (IND)
Silver: Lee Yunri (KOR)
Bronze: Mona Agarwal (IND)

P1 - 10m Air Pistol Men SH1 Final
Gold: Jo Jeongdu (KOR)
Silver: Manish Narwal (IND)
Bronze: Yang Chao (CHN)

R4 - Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2 Final
Gold: Francek Gorazd Tirsek (SLO)
Silver: Tanguy de La Forest (FRA)
Bronze: Huntae Seo (KOR)

PARA-TABLE TENNIS

Women's Doubles - WD14
Gold: Huang Wenjuan/Jin Yucheng (CHN)
Silver: Stephanie Grebe/Juliane Wolf (GER)
Bronze: Felicity Pickard/Bly Twomey (GBR), Aida Husic Dahlen/Merethe Tveiten (NOR)

Women's Doubles - WD5
Gold: Liu Jing/Xue Juan (CHN)
Silver: Seo Su Yeon/Yoon Jiyu (KOR)
Bronze: Catia Oliveira/Joyce Oliveira (BRA), Dararat Asayut/Chilchitparyak Bootwansirina (THA)

PARA-TAEKWONDO

-63kg - Men K44, Final
Gold: Mahmut Bozteke (TUR)
Silver: Bolor-Erdene Ganbat (MGL)
Bronze: Antonino Bossolo (ITA), Ayoub Adouich (MAR)

-57kg - Women K44, Final
Gold: Li Yujie (CHN)
Silver: Gamze Gurdal (TUR)
Bronze: Palesha Goverdhan (NEP), Silvana Mayara Cardoso Fernandes (BRA)

-70kg - Men K44, Final
Gold: Imamaddin Khalilov (AZE)
Silver: Fatih Celik (TUR)
Bronze: Juan Diego Garcia Lopez (MEX), Juan Eduardo Samorano (ARG)

-65kg - Women K44, Final
Gold: Ana Carolina Silva De Moura (BRA)
Silver: Djelika Diallo (FRA)
Bronze: Lisa Kjaer (DEN), Christina Gkentzou (GRE)