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Jonas Jacobsson competes during the final of the mixed R6-50m free rifle prone SH1 event of the shooting at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, Sept. 12, 2008. Jacobsson claimed the title of the event with a total result of 695.8 points. It was his third gold medal in the Beijing Paralympics, and also the 16th one of his Paralympics. (Xinhua/Ren Yong) Photo Gallery>>> |
By Sportswriter Gao Peng
BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Swedish shooting legend
Jonas Jacobsson clinched his third gold medal at the Beijing Paralympics and
16th from eight Games on Friday, and Natalie du Toit of South Africa made it
4-for-4 to keep alive her hopes of winning five golds.
Although China grabbed only four gold medals on Day
Six, the second least for the hosts in any single day since the opening of the
Games, they surpassed the 100-medal mark. The Chinese topped the overall medal
standings with 37 golds, 42 silvers and 30 bronzes.
Britain, boosted by a haul of six golds in road
cycling, swimming and boccia, closed in on China with 33-20-16. The United
States was third on 23-16-17.
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South Africa's gold medalist Natalie Du Toit(C) poses for photos with Canada's silver medalist Stephine Dixon(L) and Australia's bronze winner Elli Cole in the awarding ceremony for women's 400m individual freestyle S9 during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China, Sept. 12, 2008.(Xinhua/Yang Shiyao) Photo Gallery>>> |
Jacobsson scored a mediocre 695.8 points in the mixed
50m free rifle prone SH1, nearly seven points short of his own world record. But
it was already good enough to put him atop the podium again following victories
in 50m free rifle 3x40 SH1 and 10m air rifle standing SH1 events.
The 43-year-old veteran downplayed the magnitude of
his achievement, saying "I just do as much as I can."
But his coach, Anders Sundell, was full of praise for
him.
"He's super. He's probably the best disabled shooter
in the world," said Sundell.
"He knows more about shooting than most of the
people. He came here to take part in four events and got three medals. It is
amazing."
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Li Duan of China competes during the men's triple jump F11 final at the National Stadium£¬also known as the Bird's Nest£¬during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, Sept. 12, 2008. Li won the title with 13.71 meters. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Photo Gallery>>> |
In Athens 2004, Jacobsson snatched four gold medals,
breaking eight world and Paralympic records and eqauling four.
Du Toit, who has already won the 100m butterfly, 100m
freestyle and 200m individual medley, smashed her own world record to win the
400m freestyle in 4 minutes 23.81 seconds.
"It was a good race. I gave everything," said du
Toit, who is gunning for one more win - 50m freestyle - to equal her gold tally
at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.
The first female amputee to compete in the Olympics,
du Toit finished 16th among 25 competitors in the 10-kilometer open-water swim
last month at the Beijing Games.
She is one of only two Paralympians who also took
part in the Beijing Olympics. The other was Polish table tennis player Natalia
Partyka.
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Cui Yanfeng (front) of China competes during the men's 800m-T54 semifinal at the National Stadium£¬also known as the Bird's Nest£¬during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, Sept. 12, 2008. Cui was qualified for the final with 1 min 34.93 secs. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Photo Gallery>>> |
At the Bird's Nest stadium, visually impaired Li Duan
opened the gold account for China as the 30-year-old managed a world
record-breaking jump of 13.71 meters to retain his crown in the men's triple
jump in F11. The previous world mark of 13.47m was set by Jose Rodriguez of
Spain in 1998.
His compatriots Gao Mingjie and Huang Lisha followed
suit, breaking world records in men's javelin throw F 42-44 and women's 100m T53
en route to taking golds.
Xie Qing, who has been blind since birth, added a
fourth gold for China with a triumph in the women's 100m freestyle S11
event.
"I'm very excited. Winning the gold is truly a
difficult task," said the 20-year-old Xie.
Meanwhile, Britain's cycling success switched from
the track to the road as Rachel Morris, David Stone and Sarah Storey added three
golds to the team's medal tally.
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China's Yang Lei (L) defends South Africa's Nathaniel during a wheelchair basketball match at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Sept. 12, 2008. China lost the match 60-67. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin) Photo Gallery>>> |
Spain equaled Britain's victories at the Laoshan
Velodrome, where cyclists from the United States and Germany also claimed two
golds apiece.
The 2012 hosts stormed to a golden double in the
swimming pool with Sam Hynd in men's 400m freestyle S8 and Liz Johnson in
women's 100m breastroke SB6.
More than 4,000 athletes from 147 countries and
regions compete here in 20 sports in five different categories of disability,
with a total of 472 gold medals at stake.