Cuba’s golden day began at the Stade de France, where 21-year-old Robiel Yankiel Sol clinched the gold medal in the T47 long jump. Despite already holding the world and Paralympic records in this event, Sol’s drive for excellence was evident. "For me, no jump is ever good enough, even if it’s a record," he stated, reflecting his relentless pursuit of perfection.

The momentum continued with Omara Durand, one of the standout athletes of these Games. The 32-year-old sprinter added another gold to her illustrious career by winning the women’s 400m T12 event with a time of 53.59 seconds. She finished ahead of Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Ukraine’s Oksana Boturchuk. After her victory, Durand described her win as a "beautiful story" and confidently announced, "Now, I’ll compete in the 100m and 200m and secure the other two gold medals." 

Competing in the visually impaired category, Durand has revealed that these will be her final Paralympic Games, with aspirations of achieving a third consecutive triple gold, following her successes in Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016. Cuba’s third gold in athletics came from Guillermo Varona, who dominated the men’s F46 javelin throw, further adding to the nation’s impressive medal haul.

While Cuba celebrated, Swiss Paralympic legend Marcel Hug faced disappointment. After a surprise defeat in the 5,000 metres on Saturday, Hug was unable to reclaim his title in the T54 1,500 metres, finishing second once again.

The day also brought a poignant moment in the women’s T46 100 metres. Venezuelan sprinter Lisbeli Vera Andrade, the defending Paralympic champion, was on track to repeat her triumph when she suffered a severe injury during the race. Collapsing just before the finish line, Vera Andrade was unable to complete the race, leaving her dreams of another gold unfulfilled as she lay on the track, unable to continue.

At La Défense Arena, Ihar Boki stole the spotlight in the pool. The Belarusian swimmer secured his fifth gold of the Paris Games in the men’s SM13 200m individual medley, setting a new world record in the process. This victory brought Boki’s total Paralympic gold medal count to an astonishing 21, further cementing his legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats. With these numbers, the press has called him “Belarusian Phelps”, in reference to the American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist 23 times.

Boki, who competes under a neutral flag like the Russian para athletes, thus climbed to the top of the podium for the fifth time at the Paris event, after the titles in 100 meters backstroke, 100 butterfly, 400 freestyle and 50 freestyle.

Colombian swimmer Nelson Crispín also delivered a strong performance, earning his third silver medal of the Games in the men’s SM6 200m individual medley. Crispín will have one last opportunity to chase gold in the 100m freestyle S6 event on Thursday.

In football 5-a-side, played against the iconic backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, both Colombia and Argentina secured 1-0 victories over Morocco and Japan, respectively, advancing to the semi-finals. Colombia will face the host nation France, while Argentina will take on Brazil, a team that has remained undefeated in Paralympic football for 20 years.

Over at the Grand Palais, the opening day of wheelchair fencing saw significant delays, testing the patience of spectators. Despite the setbacks, the crowd’s enthusiasm remained high, particularly for the French athletes, though none managed to secure a medal. The first gold in the wheelchair fencing competition went to China’s Feng Yanke, who narrowly defeated Poland’s Michal Dabrowski 15-14 in a tense sabre final for category B athletes, who have no voluntary trunk movement.

The day ended on a disappointing note for the Spanish men’s wheelchair basketball team, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 57-49 loss to Germany at the Bercy Arena. Despite the outcome, player Alejandro Zarzuela reflected positively, saying, "The experience has been incredible. We have to be proud. This is sport; sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t."