France
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Yesterday it was clear national fever for the Paralympic Games shows no signs of letting up as day six saw the track athletes cheered on by a full capacity crowd as team GB collected more medals.
One of the highlights of day six was Bethany Woodward claiming silver in the T37 200 meters final, her second medal of the Games after winning bronze as part of team GB’s T35-38 4×100 meters relay team on Tuesday. The teenager, who has cerebral palsy, powered through the last 50 meters to claim second in a tight finish, with Namibia’s Johanna Benson taking gold.
After the race Bethany commented: “I felt like I did everything that I could possibly do right in that race. There’s only one chance out there and I was always going to give my utmost.”
Pushing Barriers
Explaining the battle she faces with her condition when competing, the 20-year-old said: “The cerebral palsy side is lazy and it’s a constant battle to push through that and say actually, ‘No you are going to do something great here.’ I was going ‘Come on! Push it’ and my body listened.”
Elsewhere 20-year-old David Devine found a late burst of speed in the T12 800 meters final to claim bronze, beating Cuban Lazaro Rashid on the line. The medal takes his tally to two for these Games following the bronze he won in the T12 1500 meters on Tuesday. The Liverpudlian commented: “I’m over the moon to get another medal. I thought it was all over because my legs felt so bad, like they had no zip in them – but I thought I’ve got 100m left of my championship, so I gave it everything.”
The athletes were encouraged by a full capacity crowd who roared, waved, shouted and cheered their way through the athletics, no matter the nationality of the athletes, with Devine commenting: “Without the crowd I wouldn’t have got a place today, so thank you to everyone. I’m probably never going to hear it again and it was unbelievable!”
There were also strong performances for other countries including Brazil and Algeria. Both countries claimed all three podium places for two separate events, Brazil for the woman’s T11 100 meters and Algeria for the men’s F32/33 shot put.
