Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk captures Paralympic bronze in men's T34 100m
CBC Sports | Posted: September 2, 2024 8:28 AM | Last Updated: September 2
Winnipeg's Leanne Taylor opens Day 5 with bronze in women's wheelchair triathlon
Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk won his first career Paralympic medal on Monday with bronze in the men's T34 100 metres.
The Oakville, Ont., native finished in a time of 15.19 seconds at Stade de France, earning Canada's sixth bronze and 10th medal of these Games.
The 27-year-old accelerated into medal position down the stretch to finish just 0.05 seconds behind silver medallist Walid Ktila of Tunisia, who entered the race as the three-time defending champion.
"It's fantastic. It feels good to finally break the ice on my first Paralympic podium," Smeenk said.
Thailand's Chaiwat Rattana won the gold medal while setting a Paralympic record in 14.76.
WATCH l Smeenk rolls to Paralympic bronze:
Smeenk delivered Canada's second medal on the track in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. Fellow wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos was a silver medallist in the men's T53 400m on Sunday.
Smeenk finished seventh three years ago in Tokyo and sixth in his Paralympic debut at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"To get the medal means the culmination of yesterdays have finally come to fruition today. I learned a bit yesterday [heats] and it's about taking away what we can to be a little bit smarter every day," he said.
WATCH l Smeenk elated to finally win 1st Paralympic medal:
Smeenk registered the fourth-fastest qualifying time, winning his heat in 15.38.
He won silver in the event at the World Para Athletics Championships last July.
Smeenk is also set to compete in the men's 800m T34 event. He holds the world record in both the 800 (1:35.59) and 400 (48.06).
He will race his heat in the event on Friday at 6:10 a.m. ET, with the final scheduled for Saturday at 4:12 a.m. ET. Watch live coverage on CBC Gem, the Paris 2024 website and the Paris 2024 mobile app for Android and iOS devices.
"It's one of my strongest events," Smeenk said. "I got the world record this year but performances pre-Paralympics don't mean very much.
"I'm not going to be sleeping on the results I've produced so far. It's about what I can produce on the day."
Smeenk was born with a hereditary form of paraplegia that causes stiffness in the lower limbs.
WATCH | Smeenk joins CBC Sports' Brian Hnatiw after bronze medal:
Taylor takes triathlon bronze
Canada's Leanne Taylor earned triathlon bronze earlier in the day in the women's PTWC category.
The 32-year-old from Winnipeg finished third in the women's wheelchair triathlon behind victor Lauren Parker of Australia and silver medallist Kendall Gretsch of the United States.
"I don't think it's really set in yet. ... it meant so much to me to have a performance that got them to cheer even louder than they already were. I'm super excited," Taylor said after the race.
"It was a really tough day for me. Even coming into it, I wasn't feeling well coming into the race, so I was really nervous about how hard I was going to be able to push."
WATCH l Taylor earns triathlon bronze for Canada:
Taylor made her Paralympic debut in Paris. She was paralyzed from the waist down in a mountain bike crash five years ago.
"I was injured in a bike accident six years ago, and there's a massive group of people who supported me to get to this point. Just to have something to show them like 'this is why we did it,'" she said.
"It was worth it."
The distance is a 750m swim, a 20-kilometre handbike and a five-kilometre wheelchair race.
Taylor posted an overall time of one hour 12 minutes and 11 seconds.
Parker upgraded her silver medal from Tokyo after clocking 1:06:23, dethroning defending champion Gretsch (1:07:46).
WATCH l Taylor reflects on bronze-medal win:
Para triathlon had the same scheduling problems as in the Olympic Games.
The schedule was altered and races postponed because of water quality issues in the Seine River.
Men's wheelchair basketball team downs Germany
Canada wrapped preliminary action in men's wheelchair basketball with a 68-52 win over Germany, securing second place in Group A with a 2-1 record.
The Canadians built a 22-point lead through three quarters before going cold and scoring just four points in the final frame. Still, their defence held strong in what was eventually a 16-point victory.
Patrick Anderson led Canada with 17 points while Colin Higgins and Reed De'Aeth chipped in 14 points apiece.
De'Aeth, the 22-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., is the youngest member of the Canadian team.
"You feel like the younger brother of the group, but it's awesome. I couldn't ask for a better team," he said. "These guys have been there supporting me since I joined the team, and, you know, they'll make fun of me. But hey, we're all here supporting each other all at once. It's awesome."
It appears Canada will face the Netherlands, which was third in Group B at 1-2, in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
"They [have] got some fantastic players, but so do we. Our defence will try to push them out as far as we can and not try and overcomplicate things," Higgins said. "If it's open, we'll stroke it. Hopefully we'll get a couple of lucky bounces and things go our way tomorrow."
The Canadian men have not reached the wheelchair basketball podium since winning gold in 2012.
Sitting volleyball squad into semis
Canada's women's sitting volleyball team will play for a medal in Paris.
A 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-13) victory over Rwanda at North Paris Arena on Monday ensured the Canadians would finish no worse than the fourth-place standing they earned three years ago in Tokyo.
"We've been working really hard to get here, so I'm really glad that it's paying off, and we just really hope to bring out our best ball in [the semis]," said Jennifer Oakes, who scored 10 points as captain Danielle Ellis led the way with 21.
The semifinals take place on Thursday, when Canada will face the winner of Group A — likely China.
If Canada can manage one more win in Paris, it'll reach its first-ever Paralympic podium in the sport.
"I think coming back from Tokyo, it was obviously a heartbreak, but I think we all took that as fuel for the fire. We all came back right away into training, and have been working so hard the past quad because we were so close, and we want that medal so badly," Oakes said.
"So that's our goal in this tournament. We're really hoping that everything just pays off and comes together, and we can secure that."
Lakatos misses 1,500 final
Brent Lakatos, who won his 12th career Paralympic medal on Sunday in the men's T53 400 metres, failed to reach the T54 1,500 final a day later.
Lakatos, who typically competes in the T53 category for athletes with more severe disabilities than T54, placed eighth in his heat with a season-best time of 2:59.19.
The 44-year-old Canadian from Dorval, Que., also missed the final in the event at Tokyo 2020.
He'll return to the track on Thursday for the T53 800m.
Other Canadian results:
- Kamylle Frenette finished one spot off the podium in the women's PTS5 triathlon with an overall time of 1:07:25.
- In wheelchair rugby, Canada lost 53-50 to host France on Monday, confirming a 6th-place finish in the event at the Paris Paralympics for the world No. 5 team.
- Canada's Rob Shaw dropped his wheelchair tennis quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-0 against the Netherlands' Niels Vink.