Paris Paralympics: China gold, Hong Kong silver, Jackie Chan and a host of world records
First full day of competition in the French capital brings out the stars, Sinner and Swiatek march on in New York, and Joe Root makes history
If you’re experiencing a certain sense of déjà vu, you’re not the only one. I’m pretty sure we’ve all been here before – China’s swimmers winning gold, a Hong Kong athlete also starring in the pool, and the US dominating the men’s basketball.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, see the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Throw the US Open, some Test cricket, and the start of the football season into the mix and you have a recipe for a busy time on the global sporting calendar.
That’s without American football, where the Dallas Cowboys are still bad, and baseball, where Shohei Ohtani is still good. This then is just some of what happened while you were sleeping.
Enter the Dragons
Hands up if you had Jackie Chan awarding gold medals on your Paralympics bingo card. No, me neither, and yet here we are.
The action movie legend was on hand to watch cyclist Wang Xiaomei set a world record and win the women’s C1-3 3,000m individual pursuit, one of four golds China’s athletes picked up on the first day of competition.
Wang, who took silver in Tokyo, finished in three minutes and 41.692 seconds, 10 seconds ahead of silver medallist and Paralympic debutant Daphne Schrager.
“I’m so happy right now,” said Wang, after Chan presented her with her medal. “To be able to win the gold this time, I can only say thank you. Thank you to my team, thank you to my coach. Because of them, I got to where I am today.”
A golden start
Li Zhangyu won China’s first gold of the day, in the men’s C1 3000m individual pursuit, with teammate Liang Weicong gabbing silver.