Britain added a further gold to its horde at Saturday morning's Road Cycling competition when David Stone became the first double gold medalist of the meeting.
Taking the lead from the start of the Mixed Road Race (CP1/CP2), Stone (CP2) led all the way coming home over three minutes clear of his nearest opponent, South Africa's Riaan Nel (CP2) and Italy's Giorgio Farroni (CP2) with just a second separating the silver and bronze medalists.
Rachel Morris (Great Britain) (HCB) couldn't emulate Stone in the Women's Road Race (HCA/HCB/HCC) event in her aim of doubling up on her gold medal haul. Morris started out as one of the favorites having taken the Women's Time Trial (HCA/HCB/HCC) by three minutes on Friday but had to settle for sixth place after seeing Germany's Andrea Eskau (HCC) grab gold in one of the tightest finishes yet seen at Saturday meeting.
Eskau slip-streamed Monique van der Vorst of the Netherlands (HCC) for much of the 36.3km course, overtaking her on the line and snatching gold by just a wheel's length, 0.13 seconds ahead of the Dutch rider. Eskau's teammate Dorothee Vieth (HCC) came home on her own in third place 26 seconds behind the winner.
The win for Eskau brings Germany level with Spain and the United States at three golds, one behind Britain on four, and brings her the satisfaction of proving her domination in women's hand cycling having taken gold at the event at the 2007 Paracycling World Championships at Bordeaux, France.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Paralympic Shooting Overall Review: Jacobsson displays his class in Beijing
Legendary shooter Jonas Jacobsson yet again showed his class at the 2008 Paralympic Games. Jacobsson leaves Beijing with three gold medals in hand.
The Swedish shooter looked unbeatable in his first two events, the Men's 10m Air Rifle Standing-SH1 and the Mixed 50m Free Rifle 3x40-SH1, setting world and Paralympic records in both the qualification and the final rounds en route to the gold medals.
However, Jacobsson, who is famed for his accuracy and consistency, surprisingly failed to make the final in his third event, the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone-SH1. He struggled in the first two qualification rounds and lost his chance to defend the gold medal he won at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games by the tiny margin of one point.
He met expectations in his last event, winning the Mixed 50m Free Rifle Prone-SH1 on the last day of the six-day Shooting competition. His Paralympic medal tally now stands at a total of 25 medals - 16 gold medals, one silver medal and eight bronze medals from eight appearances at the Paralympic Games.
Lee Ji-seok of the Republic of Korea was also one of the best shooters at Beijing 2008. Lee was invincible in his two events, the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone-SH2 and the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing-SH2.
Lee's achievement was one of contributing factors of the Republic of Korea's success - it was the most successful country, pocketing a total of nine medals (four gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals) at the Games.
The Swedish shooter looked unbeatable in his first two events, the Men's 10m Air Rifle Standing-SH1 and the Mixed 50m Free Rifle 3x40-SH1, setting world and Paralympic records in both the qualification and the final rounds en route to the gold medals.
However, Jacobsson, who is famed for his accuracy and consistency, surprisingly failed to make the final in his third event, the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone-SH1. He struggled in the first two qualification rounds and lost his chance to defend the gold medal he won at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games by the tiny margin of one point.
He met expectations in his last event, winning the Mixed 50m Free Rifle Prone-SH1 on the last day of the six-day Shooting competition. His Paralympic medal tally now stands at a total of 25 medals - 16 gold medals, one silver medal and eight bronze medals from eight appearances at the Paralympic Games.
Lee Ji-seok of the Republic of Korea was also one of the best shooters at Beijing 2008. Lee was invincible in his two events, the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone-SH2 and the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing-SH2.
Lee's achievement was one of contributing factors of the Republic of Korea's success - it was the most successful country, pocketing a total of nine medals (four gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals) at the Games.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)