PARIS (AP) — Ella Sabljak thrust her arms in the air after helping Australia win the bronze medal in wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics on Monday, then turned her thoughts to growing the sport.
As one of three women on Australia’s team she is optimistic their medal success will get others to take up wheelchair rugby.
“I really hope so. We have a huge amount of women and girls interested,” she said after the 50-48 win. “Moving forward, the strategy in our teams definitely should include embedding women in our team development, all through the pipeline.”
Emilie Miller and Shae Graham were the other women on the 12-strong team, the highest representation of women of any nation competing in Paris in the mixed-gender but male-dominated wheelchair rugby.
“The team uses our strengths. They never shut that down,” Sabljak said about their roles. “They know what my strengths are, same with Shae, same with Emilie.”
Sabljak hopes for eventual parity with a 6-6 split on teams.
“That’s really ambitious. I would love to see that,” she said. “The next Paralympics are in LA, four years away, who knows what can happen?”
Two other women won wheelchair rugby medals: Kae Kurahashi earned gold for Japan following a 48-41 win against a United States team featuring Sarah Adam.
Pregnant archer clinches gold
Pregnant archer Jodie Grinham clinched gold in the mixed team compound event alongside British teammate Nathan Macqueen, after they beat Iran 155-151.
Grinham, who is seven months pregnant, celebrated once again after her bronze medal on Saturday in the women’s individual compound event.
Transgender athlete misses final
Italian transgender runner Valentina Petrillo failed to reach the final of the women’s 400 meters in her classification for visually impaired athletes.
The 50-year-old Petrillo, a transgender woman who was raised as a boy, finished third in her semifinal heat despite a personal best of 57.58 seconds.
World Athletics last year banned transgender women from competing in the female category at international events if they transitioned after puberty. But its para counterpart, World Para Athletics, has not followed suit.
Brazil’s unbeaten run continues
Brazil’s 3-0 win against host France in blind soccer group play means it still has not lost a match in Paralympic competition since its introduction to the Games in 2004.
The Brazilians are chasing a sixth straight gold medal and are spearheaded by Jefferson Goncalves Mizael Oliveira, known as Jefinho.
The speedy 34-year-old is gunning for his fifth consecutive gold medal.
Woodhall is sixth in 100m
Hunter Woodhall hoped to match his wife by winning an Olympic medal but he finished sixth in the 100 meters.
Woodhall is married to long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall, who gold at the Olympics last month.
Hunter is a double amputee running in the T62 category. He clocked 10.96 seconds. Costa Rican Sherman Isidro set a Paralympic record winning in 10.65.
Hunter was born with a birth defect that left him without fibulas in either leg and led to amputation below the knees.
Into the river at last
Triathlon events in the Seine River finally got the green light and home favorite Alexis Hanquinquant soon had the enthusiastic crowd going.
Hanquinquant raised his arms in triumph and pointed to his name as the home fans chanted his name.
“The crowd was incredible,” said Hanquinquant, who competed in the PTS4 class. “Doing it at home is exceptional.”
Hanquinquant had his right leg amputated just below the knee in 2013, about three years after it was crushed by agricultural equipment in a work accident.
Sport classes PTS2 to 5 are for athletes with limitations in lower or upper limbs who don’t need a handcycle for the cycling segment or a racing chair for the running segment. Prosthetic legs and bike modifications are allowed.
Triathlon events were postponed from Sunday because of concerns about the river’s water safety after rainstorms. Heavy rains cause wastewater and runoff to flow into the river, leading to a rise in bacteria levels.
First badminton medal for US
Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon won America’s first medals in badminton — a silver — in the mixed doubles SH6 classification for athletes with short stature.
The two 19-year-olds lost the final to China’s Lin Naili and Li Fengmei at Porte de la Chapelle Arena in northern Paris.
But silver was still great after they qualified by grabbing the final available spot back in April.
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Associated Press Writer Tom Nouvian contributed to this report, as did Jack Rachinsky and Jack Leo, students at Penn State and the University of Georgia.
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