Australian Paraolympians: 69 Medals So Far, Double 100m Sprint Golds
In total the Australian team has 69 medals so far, with 19 golds, 26 silvers and 24 bronzes. Evan O’Hanlon became the first cerebral palsy athlete to run the 100m in under 11 secs, in a world record time of 10.96 seconds. Australian amputee sprinter Heath Francis dominated his category winning golds in the 100, 200 and 400 metres.
- Heath Francis: 100, 200, 400 Champion. Image by Serena Corporate Photography, click to enlarge
Top Aussie swimmer Matt Cowdrey, whom we profiled earlier here, has already won four gold medals, every single one in world record time in the amputee classification.
The Aussie wheelchair basketball team “The Rollers’ is set to play for gold. They are up against Canada, who went into the finals after knocking out the American team.
In other Paralympic news, powerlifter Naveed Ahmed Butt of Pakistan was kicked out of the Games and banned for two years after testing positive to steroids.
There is a great photo gallery here on the official Australia Paraolympic website.
Guys have my respect who can overcome what they do.
Cant imagine the hardships these guys go through to win their events.Some of their stories are heartbreaking.