Day five of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro saw the Scots on the ParlympicsGB team involved in a busy programme of heats and finals across five sports.

Wheelchair Tennis

Gordon Reid had dispatched Dan Wallin from Sweden with ruthless efficiency in the second round of the men’s singles competition to line up a third round tie against Frederic Cattaneo from France. Gordon was in supreme form once again winning the match 6-0, 6-2 within 48 minutes.

The demands of the wheelchair tennis competition are considerable and Gordon was back on court later in the day with Alfie Hewitt for a men’s double’s quarter-final encounter against Spain’s Daniel Caverzaschi and Martin de la Puente. The Wimbledon champions and number two seeds had beaten Ho Won Im and Ha Gel Lee from South Korea 6-1, 6,2 in the last round and again eased to a comfortable victory, winning 6-2, 6-0 to book their place in the semi-final.

Commenting after the match Gordon from Alexandria, said:

“We were playing really well as a team and our confidence continues to grow when we’re on court together”.

“Nothing has changed, we’re still here for that gold medal and we’re feeling good about it. The matches are getting serious now but that doesn’t change how I prepare, I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Athletics

Libby Clegg was back on the track in the Olympic Stadium for the heats and semi-final of the T11 200m. Libby stormed to victory in the 100m on day two of the Games and was determined to add the 200m title to her list of achievements. In her heat, Libby ran a comfortable 25.90 to win and qualify for the semi-final later in the day.

In the semi-final, Libby and guide Chris Clarke ran 25.24 to qualify for tomorrow’s final fourth fastest overall.

Libby said:

“We have been really lucky with the heats and semi-finals today because they have been slower than some of the others which is good for us going into the final”.

“We were feeling really confident today and it’s nice to take it a bit easier in terms of time wise, we weren’t pushing max speed. We want to keep ourselves fresh for the final tomorrow evening so fingers crossed everything goes to plan and we execute our race.”

Swimming

Andrew Mullen qualified as sixth fastest in the men’s S5 50m freestyle heats in a time of 35.75 secs with Brazil’s Daniel Dias once again the firm favourite for the gold. Andrew then swan a personal best time of 34.87 to finish the final in fifth place.

Abby Kane also qualified for the final of the 400m freestyle S13, taking a second off her personal best to make the final as seventh fastest qualifier in 4:52.23. Abby, the youngest member of the ParalympicsGB team in Rio produced another personal best in the final to finish sixth in a time of 4:49.27. She will now look towards the 100m backstroke later this week.

Abby said;

“There is definitely room for improvement but I’ve got loads of time. This is all about experience and fun for me right now. I’m really buzzing for the backstroke now but I’ve got to wait a few days.”

Stephen Clegg, just failed to make his final after making his Games debut in the 400m freestyle S13. Clegg admitted a shoulder niggle had been plaguing his training and he clocked 4:23.07 to rank ninth in qualifying, missing progressing to the final by just over three seconds.

Boccia

GB’s BC4 Pairs team featuring Scotland’s Stephen McGuire and Kieran Steer along with Evie Edwards missed out on the bronze medal as Thailand fought back from being 2-0 down, to a 3-2 victory.

GB took control of the match going up 1-0 after the first end and doubled their lead after a comfortable second end.  However, the Thai team levelled the match in the third end by taking two and edged out GB by taking a single shot in the final end.

After the match Hamilton’s McGuire said:

“I’m not disappointed, I’m devastated, to be honest. It’s the third time I’ve finished fourth at the Paralympics”.

“We were in control of that match. The first two ends we played really well, really solid”.

“Even the third end, we went ball for ball, we had the balls to win it, we went to try and open it up. They only had one ball left but we didn’t quite execute there. That was the key end”.

“The last end was always going to be pressure, and again I had the shots, I just pulled them a little bit, so it was a game of two halves I suppose.”

Steer, from Fife, said:

“I’m pretty disappointed, we played amazingly through the whole contest, there were just one or two key balls in that game that we got wrong.”

7 a Side Football

Having agonisingly lost both their opening Group A matches 2-1, to Brazil and Ukraine, the GB Football 7 a Side squad couldn’t qualify for the semi-finals but had pride to play for in their final group match against the Republic of Ireland. GB enjoyed a comfortable 5-1 victory with four different players on the scoresheet and an own goal for Ireland, ensuring a third-place finish in Group A. GB will now face Argentina on Wednesday in the play off for fifth place in the tournament.

Well what can I say about the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games so far…

Well, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? The Opening Ceremony was one of the most incredible and powerful things I have ever had the opportunity and pleasure of watching. The way it began was just epic when a man in a wheelchair propelled himself down a 50 meter ramp to then go flying through the air – just something else. This was then followed by a series of dance numbers including one by a blind pair who performed beautifully in front of a giant screen. This is when the party really got started.

The athletes then came piling in country by country in alphabetical order, but by their Portuguese name (to many people’s confusion). The athletes were met by rapturous applause as they paraded around the stadium in their nations’ colours. Each country brought in a jigsaw piece and they were put together in the middle of the Maracana Stadium. Once the final country, Brazil, entered the stadium the final bit of the puzzle was laid to reveal an enormous heart which began to beat and flow around the Maracana and the line ‘everyone has the same heart’ was projected onto the stadium floor.

After another dance number – this time between female double leg amputeed dancing with a huge 10ft robot arm – the lighting of the Paralympic Flame began.

Four Torch bearers had the pleasure of carrying the Torch from the stadium door to the Cauldron in a relay formation. The second runner was an elderly lady who is officiating for athletics. Around half way through her stretch she had a stumble and fell and dropped the Torch. This was one of the most heart breaking and totally amazing moments I have every witnessed. When it became clear the lady was ok and was going to carry on, the stadium went into full-on applause with a standing ovation; it was an amazing moment that just proves we are all human but wee stumbles in the road should not stop us from completing our journey and our dreams.

The torch was then passed on to a former Brazilian athlete who is visually impaired and was running with a guide.

The final athlete to carry the flame was also a former Brazilian athlete who finished off the torch relay in dramatic style when eventually he got to the stairs which lead up to where the Cauldron was – at this point I should mention this athlete is in a wheelchair. The stadium was looking around as if to say well this is a bit awkward at the Paralympic Games but just as we were all wondering what was going to happen the stairs started to shake and move and out of nowhere the stairs suddenly had a ramp carved into them which he proceeded to climb. When he reached the top of this incredible ramp he lit the Paralympic Cauldron with his torch and the Games were officially opened.

Day 1

In the morning of Fay 1 I was lucky enough to get tickets to be in the audience of the Channel 4 TV show The Last Leg live from out here in Rio. It was a great experience and the guys on the show are genuinely so nice and friendly.

When I walked into the Olympic Park later that day I was totally blown away by how busy it was, the worries that had been floating about a few weeks ago that tickets weren’t selling were quickly gone when I walked into the Velodrome, and this is where my first day of sporting action started at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games where I witnessed GB’s first three gold medals of the Games, including Dame Sarah Story beating her GB team mate in the final of the woman’s 3000m in dramatic form when she caught Crystal Lane in just 2000m to clinch the Gold.

I then quickly moved across to the Aquatics Centre where the atmosphere was electric and managed to catch Ollie Hynd collecting GB’s fourth gold of the day. This was quickly followed by our fifth from Bethany Firth in the S14 100m Backstroke. I also saw my friend and fellow Scotsman Andrew Mullen collect his first medal of the Games which was a Bronze in the S5 200m freestyle.

What will Day 2 bring…?

Stefan Hoggan

 

Former staff sergeant Micky Yule was the last of the powerlifters to compete for ParalympicsGB in Rio yesterday, equalling his weight category PB to finish in sixth place of the men’s -65Kg.

Yule showed much of the determination that has taken him from injured soldier to Paralympic athlete in just a few years as he stepped up to confidently complete a 180kg lift in his first attempt. This equalled his personal best at this weight class, leaving him in third at the end of the first round after three athletes who opened with a higher weight missed their lifts.

The Help for Heroes Recovery Programme athlete then went on to raise the bar up to 184kg for his second attempt, but was unable to make the lift. Paul Kehinde from Nigeria lifted a new Paralympic record of 210kg, leaving Yule in sixth at the end of the second round.

Despite missing 184kg, Yule opted to increase the weight in his third lift to 187kg in an attempt to move up a place in the final rankings, but was unable to complete the lift. The result left him in sixth place, just 1kg behind Nikolaos Gkountanis from Greece.

In the third round, Kehinde won the gold with a 218kg lift, setting a new world record to leave Hu Peng from China with the Silver. After the competition the Nigerian lifer was permitted a fourth attempt to try and better the record he had just set, successfully lifting another new world record of 220kg.

Speaking after the competition, Yule said: “That was really hard today – I’ve never pressed more than 180kg in that weight category, so we knew we had to go big to keep up with the leading countries so we went for it. Rio only happens once and I would have regretted it if we hadn’t tried what we did today – but we live and learn, get stronger and move on to the next one.”

Commenting on Yule’s performance, British Weight Lifting Paralympic Performance Manager Tom Whittaker said: “It was fantastic to see Micky battling it out with the best in the world at his first Paralympic Games. He deserves huge credit after the commitment he has shown to the process required to perform at this level.”

Yule’s performance in Rio wouldn’t have been possible without the support and funding provided by the National Lottery and UK Sport.

Day four of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro brought a second gold medal for the Scots on the ParlympicsGB team.

Athletics

In 2014 Glasgow’s Jo Butterfield set a European record in the club throw while winning the event at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships. The following year she added the World title at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Qatar, securing her place at the 2016 Paralympic Games.

It didn’t take Jo long to wrap up the Paralympic gold medal with a dominant display of throwing. Her first throw of 22.60 set a new Paralympic record and was swiftly followed by a massive throw of 22.81 to break her own world record.

Jo said:

“The last three throws were a little bit emotional, It’s just unbelievable, it’s what I’ve worked for and it feels so good to have done it”.

“Five years ago my life changed completely in a moment and sport has given me a massive boost and a reason to carry on.”

Sammi Kinghorn qualified for the final of the T53 400m courtesy of her 56.76 seconds fourth place finish in her heat. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Sammi who finished sixth in her first Paralympics final before being disqualified for an infringement. The race was won by Zhou Hongzhuan of China in a world record time of 54.43secs, USA’s Chelsea McClammer took silver and Australia’s Angela Ballard bronze.

Sammi said;

“I’m not frustrated. I need to chill out and enjoy the whole experience. My mum and dad had everyone chanting my name. I’m still young, I’ve got a lot more to give.”

Cycling

Neil Fachie travelled to Rio as the reigning Tandem B Time Trial Paralympic champion following his gold medal at London 2012 and had high hopes of regaining his title in Rio.

But it wasn’t to be for Aberdeen’s Fachie, who won silver in the men’s B 1000m time trial alongside pilot Pete Mitchell. The British duo flew out of the starting gate but could not quite beat the sensational Paralympic record time of 59.822 set by Tristan Bangma and pilot Teun Mulder of the Netherlands and instead sped to silver in a time of 1:00.241.

Also competing in the men’s B 1000m time trial was pilot Craig MacLean and newcomer James Ball who had set the pace as the first British tandem to take to the track and finished in a very creditable fifth place.

Paratriathlon

Paratriathlon is making its Paralympic debut in Rio and there were high hope of Scottish success in the PT5 event with Dunfermline’s Alison Patrick and guide Hazel Smith from Edinburgh.

The race was always close and Patrick and Smith were in silver medal position after the cycle stage. Often the strongest runner in the field, Patrick said she struggled with the intense heat on the hottest day of the Games so far. The pair claimed silver in the women’s PT5 race with a time of 1:13:20 with Australia’s Katie Kelly dominating to win gold, crossing the line over minute ahead of her nearest rivals.

Alison said:

“We hadn’t seen them [the Australians] race all season so we didn’t know where they were at, but they were very strong. We felt the heat massively today on the run, which is normally my strength and where I’d usually make up any time that I’d lost on anyone, but it was just so tough today.”

Wheelchair Tennis

Following Gordon Reid’s Wimbledon and Australian Open titles earlier this year there was real hope of medals in the wheelchair tennis competition at Rio. Gordon entered the men’s singles competition as third seed at the second round and faced Dan Wallin from Sweden. Gordon was on top form in this match to dispatch the Swede 6-1, 6-2.

Gordon was back on court later in the day with Alfie Hewitt for a men’s doubles second round tie against Ho Won Im and Ha Gel Lee from South Korea. It proved to be a one sided encounter with the GB pair winning 6-1, 6-2.

Gordon said:

“It feels like such a long time that I’ve been waiting to get started out here at Rio 2016 and I’ve been watching all my teammates play the past few days just itching to get on court.

“I’ve proved how I can really perform on the big stage and I thrive on large stadiums and crowds as I want to show off our sport and let people see how fantastic wheelchair tennis is”.

“I was lucky to have amazing backing at Wimbledon when I won the inaugural title there and I’ve got about 20 friends and family out here all dressed in Team Reid items and chanting. I don’t find it distracting at all, it just spurs me on.”

Wheelchair Basketball

Following yesterday’s 50-45 win over reigning Paralympic champions Germany in the Rio Olympic Arena the GB women’s team faced a final Group A match against hosts Brazil. GB secured their place in the knockout stages as head coach Miles Thompson’s team took control and silenced the home crowd to secure a 32-63 victory.

Boccia

GB were back in action in the pairs and team Boccia competitions with Scots Stephen McGuire and Kieran Steer, along with Evie Edwards, competing in the BC4 Pairs semi-final against hosts Brazil after they drew 2-2 with Hong Kong to top the pool. It proved to be a lively atmosphere but in the end it was the home favourites who emerged victorious 4-2 to progress into the gold medal match.

It means GB must now turn their attention to facing Thailand on 12 September in their quest to better the fourth place finish achieved at London 2012.

Stephen said:

“Brazil have always played that sort of game, they’re very strong in that area. We tried to play to our strengths but we didn’t quite execute in the right areas”.

“They have home advantage, saying that we could have played a bit better. We are disappointed but we’ve still got a bronze medal to go for and we want to win it.”

Elsewhere, GB and Perth’s Joshua Rowe, saw their BC1-2 Team campaign ended at the quarter-final stage after an 11-0 defeat to Thailand.

The BC3 Pairs team of Scott McCowan, Patrick Wilson and Jamie McCowan won their final pool game against Singapore 3-1 but it was not enough to progress and they will now turn their attention to the individual event.

Scott said:

“We played well, we got that win and that gives us confidence going into the individuals”.

“We’re all great players still and we’ve got a chance of going far in the next competition. We’ve just got to take than on going forwards.”

The three medals won today bring Scotland’s medal haul within the ParalympicsGB team to 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.