Canadian sprinter Marissa Papaconstantinou will look to add a second Paralympic medal to her resume on Tuesday at Stade de France in Paris.
The 24-year-old Toronto native booked a spot in the women’s T64 200-metre final by finishing third in her heat with the fifth-fastest overall time (27.47).
Papaconstantinou won bronze in the 100m in Tokyo and added world-championship bronze medals in the 200 and 100 last summer, also in Paris.
The race will also feature world-record holder Kimberly Alemade of the Netherlands and her compatriot Marle Van Gansewinkel, who set the Paralympic record three years ago in Tokyo.
Fellow Canadian Bianca Borgella qualified for the women’s T13 100m final in her Paralympic debut later on Tuesday.
The visually impaired sprinter from Rockland, Ont., registered the fourth-fastest qualifying time (12.15) to finish second in her heat — just 0.3 seconds behind top qualifier Lamiya Valiyeva of Azerbaijan.
The 21-year-old Borgella took home bronze in the event at last year’s world championships. She will compete for her first-ever Paralympic medal at 2:13 p.m. ET.
Toronto teen Sheriauna Haase, also making her Paralympic debut, posted a season-best time to advance in the women’s T47 100m event.
The 17-year-old was the fifth-fastest qualifier, clocking 12.47 for a second-place finish in her heat.
Haase’s final is scheduled for 2:23 p.m. ET.
Retired Canadian Paralympian Giselle Cole holds the world record in the event, set at the 1980 Games in Arnhem, Netherlands (14.00).
Canadian swimmers through to finals
Four of Canada’s Paralympic swimmers qualified for finals on Tuesday at Paris La Défense Arena.
Sebastian Massabie, who finished fifth in the men’s S4 200m freestyle, secured his spot in the 200m free final with a time of 3:02.28 — good for fourth-fastest overall.
The 19-year-old Paralympic rookie from Toronto will race in his second final of Paris 2024 at 11:51 a.m. ET.
Fellow Canadian Mary Jibb, 17, will compete in the women’s S9 100m backstroke final at 11:44 a.m. ET, while Alec Elliot, 28, will race in the men’s S10 100m butterfly at 2:13 p.m. ET.
Five of Canada’s 11 medals at the Paris Paralympics have been won in the pool.
Nicholas Bennett won Canada’s first gold medal of these Games in the men’s SB14 100m breaststroke after earning silver in the 200m freestyle, while Aurélie Rivard claimed silver in the women’s S10 100m free and bronze in the 50m free.
Other Canadian results:
- Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu opened the BC4 mixed pairs boccia tournament with an 8-5 win over China’s Lin Ximei and Zheng Yuansen in Pool B. The Canadian duo next faces Croatians Davor Komar and Anamaria Arambasic at 12:50 p.m. ET.
- Equestrian rider Roberta Sheffield and horse Fairuza advanced to the individual freestyle Grade II event after finishing sixth in the individual event.
- Wheelchair fencers Trinity Lowthian and Ryan Rousell will compete in repechage rounds after suffering losses in Round of 16 play. Lowthian fell to South Korea’s Cho Eun Hye (15-8) in the women’s sabre Category B, while Rousell was defeated 15-7 by Ukraine’s Artem Manko in the men’s sabre Category A.
Source Agencies
