Australia (Commonwealth) _Swimmer Tom Gallagher completed a stunning recovery from a near-fatal case of pancreatitis by winning Australia’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. In the men’s S10 50m freestyle final, which was held in front of a crowded La Defense Arena, Gallagher surged to victory with a timing of 23.40 seconds.
The Australian teammate Rowan Crothers, who finished the race in third place, was among the trailing group that the 25-year-old managed to hold off with his drive down the final stretch. “Winning the competition’s first gold medal means a lot to me,” Gallagher remarked.
“I was a different athlete in Tokyo; I had a lot of problems with my pancreas, and I almost died in the hospital after the 400 meters.” Fortunately, a few years back, I underwent surgery that completely resolved the issue, and I’ve since improved my sprinting.
“My heart rate increased to 240 beats per minute and all of my internal organs began to shut down due to the excruciating pain of pancreatitis.” “Tonight makes up for the fact that I was unable to go on the podium that evening.”
In the S9 women’s 400m freestyle swimming event, Lakeisha Patterson of Victoria appeared to be the front-runner to win Australia’s first gold medal of the games, but Sofia Konkoly of Hungary beat her to the finish line.
Patterson remarked, “I like a chase and thought I’d be able to get there tonight. I could see her closing in that last 200.” “I really can’t complain; this is my third Paralympic Games, and I’ve podiumed in each one, so that’s a unique feeling.”
Brenden Hall, a five-time Paralympian swimmer, finished third in the thrilling S9 men’s 400-meter freestyle swim. French hero Ugo Didier secured a thrilling victory with a thrilling finish. Rowan Crothers, men’s S10 50m freestyle swimmer finished only a hair behind Gallagher, but he was ecstatic for his compatriot. Given that Hall had stated that these would be his final Games, it seemed like a fitting conclusion to his seven-medal Paralympic career. The 31-year-old added that since it was his two-year-old son Bodhi’s first time to watch him participate, the medal victory had additional meaning.
Hall remarked, “Give him another year and he’ll realize what dad did was pretty important stuff.” “For me, the most important thing is that he’s currently just watching his dad swim and have a great time.”
In their first game of the competition, wheelchair basketball team The Rollers was defeated by the Netherlands 66-55. By the end of the third quarter, Australia’s deficit was down to only four points, but the Dutch managed to pull away. In the end, Bill Latham was Australia’s highest scorer.
Boccia: Potential gold medallist in his first of three pool matches, Daniel Michel started off well, defeating Karabo Morapedi of South Africa 10-2 in the men’s BC3 singles. In the women’s BC3 singles, Jamieson Leeson lost to South Korean Kang Sun-hee 6-1.
Para-tennis Wojtek Czyz of New Zealand lost against Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in a straight-set match while Juergen Klopp was watching. After Czyz, a Polish-born Kiwi, had his leg amputated more than 20 years ago due to a football injury, the former Liverpool manager became friends with the player.
Para-triathlon: All 11 events have been consolidated and rescheduled for September 1 due to pressure from The Seine. Rainfall forecasted for September 1 and 2 caused the original schedule to be adjusted.
After winning the S9 400m freestyle medal, Brenden Hall knows how to make a good impression on his wife’s parents. “It was the first time my in-laws had seen me swim live, so I had to give them something to enjoy.”
“Tomorrow night, the home nation France, it’s going to be loud.” After losing to Great Britain 58-55, the Steelers will need to battle a wall of French noise on day two to salvage a medal at the Paralympics.
MEDAL
TABLE (after day one)
1. China: 4 Gold, 1 Silver, and 0
Bronze. Sum total: 5.
2. Great Britain: 1 Bronze, 2 Silver,
and 2 Gold. Sum total: 6.
3. Italy – Two Gold, Two Silver, and
Five Bronze. In total: 9.
4. Netherlands: Silver: 0, Bronze: 0,
Gold: 2. In total: 2.
5: France: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 0 Bronze. Sum total: 3.
6. Gold: 1, Silver: 1, Bronze 2. Australia 6. In total: 4
