Paralympics 2021 LIVE Next step in Alcotts golden slam bid McGraths hiccup in canoe sprint heat

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Ouch. Carol Cooke has taken a really awful fall in the women’s T1-2 road race less than 13 minutes into her race.

A rider in front of her fell and she was unable to manoeuvre around them in time. The conditions are absolutely awful today - you can see how slippery the roads are just by the footage.

I expect we may see more falls in both the women’s and men’s events, especially on those tricky descents.

She started to get up on her own before the broadcast cut away, but the commentators have just confirmed she has continued the race. What an effort from the 60-year-old.

Hi all, Sarah Keoghan here to take you through the afternoon and evening of day nine of the Para Games.

We will kick things off with the road cycling, with the athletes having to compete in some really awful conditions.

Australia has Stuart Jones in the men’s T1-2 road race from 2pm AEST and Carol Cooke in women’s T1-2 road race from 2:05pm AEST.

Wheelchair racer Angela Ballard has been back out on the track and has qualified for the final in her 400m event after a strong performance in her heat, clocking 58.01 seconds.

As Australian boccia player Daniel Michel opened up a 3-0 lead in his bronze medal match on Wednesday, Australian Paralympic legend Kurt Fearnley tweeted out a public service announcement.

“Dan Michel currently leading in the Bronze Medal Boccia match!!!” Fearnley wrote. “TUNE IN NOW! Work & homeschooling can wait!”

Daniel Michel and ramp assistant Ash McClure after winning Australia first boccia medals in 25 years. Credit:Getty

The Sydneysider, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy (type two), was surging towards a victory that would lock up Australia’s first boccia medal since 1996 and first individual medal in the sport at the Paralympics.

With trusted ramp assistant Ash McClure by his side, who also receives a medal, Michel let out a quintessentially Australian “yeah baby” whenever he executed a shot to his liking.

The aim of boccia is for athletes in a wheelchair to propel leather balls as close as possible to a white ball or “jack”, similar to lawn bowls.

Michel, eyes darting from one ball to the next, gave McClure specific instructions about how to line up the ramp before propelling the ball down using a device he controls with his mouth.

READ MORE from Tom Decent in Tokyo

Australia’s best medal hopes will be Will Martin, Ben Hance and Jasmine Greenwood. Martin broke his own world record in the heats, Hance managed an Paralympic record, while Greenwood was only 0.52 seconds off Hungary’s Bianka Pap who qualified fastest in the 100m backstroke (S10). All three races are within about 40 minutes of each other. The relay at the end of the night will be one to watch too.

Men’s 100m butterfly (S9) - Will Martin and Tim Hodge at 6.22pm AEST
Men’s 100m backstroke (S10) - Col Pearse at 6.35pm AEST
Women’s 100m backstroke (S10) - Jasmine Greenwood at 6.42pm AEST
Men’s 100m backstroke (S14) - Ben Hance at 7.03pm AEST
Women’s 100m backstroke (S14) - Madeleine McTernan and Ruby Storm at 7.10pm AEST
Women’s 50m freestyle (S4) - Rachael Watson at 8.38pm AEST
Women’s 4x100m medley relay (34 points) at 8.59pm AEST

Australia’s Curtis McGrath is breathing a sigh of relief after winning his heat in the men’s va’a single 200m in Tokyo.

The Queenslander was well ahead in the heat but appeared to lose a bit of his composure late, and almost slipped out his lane as his canoe veered off course in the final metres. He contacted a buoy on the finish line and, while a red flag did go up, his heat run got approval, and he’s through to the final.

McGrath, a former Australian Army combat engineer who famously lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2012 but vowed at the time to make it to the Paralympics, is now at his second games after personal success in Brazil five years ago.

The ‘va’a’ canoe event refers to the name of a ‘boat’, ‘canoe’ or ‘ship’ among Pacific nations, including Tahiti.

“I could see out of the corner of my eye that I was a little bit ahead,” McGrath told Channel Seven about the closing stages of his heat.

“The goal is not to do too many changes with my style of paddling ... I had a bit of calculated risk and allowed the boat to drift right at the end there.

“I did hit the box at the end, which is past the finish line, so in my mind’ ‘I’ve crossed the line, it’s out of play’.

“They raised the red flag to maybe raise an issue but in my mind I’d crossed the finish line.”

Australia’s Curtis McGrath has been out on the water in the canoe sprint today, and finished third in his heat of the men’s kayak single 200m to qualify for the semi-finals.

McGrath, a former Australian Army combat engineer who lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2012, clocked 44.979 seconds. His personal best (set at the Rio Games five years ago) is 42.190 seconds.

READ MORE about his remarkable story, which included Paralympics success in Brazil in 2016. But his story isn’t stopping there ...

Even at the Paralympics, there is controversy over victory and defeat.

Malaysian shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli appeared to have won gold in the shot put in the F20 class. But after the victory on Tuesday, he was disqualified because he had shown up late for the competition.

International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence said Zolkefli and two others â€" who did not reach the podium â€" were allowed to compete under protest after they failed to appear on time for the event.

“They were late, they may have had a logical reason for being late, and therefore we allowed them to compete and look at the facts of the matter afterward,” Spence said.

A statement from World Para Athletics, which governs track and field for Para sports, said a referee had determined after the event that “there was no justifiable reason for the athletes’ failure to report” on time. It said an appeal was also turned down.

As Tom Decent in Tokyo reports, Australia’s Todd Hodgetts was caught up in the drama. Hodgetts, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome aged eight, has been through an emotional roller coaster and said he was “angry” after a team blunder by officials cost him the chance to register a result.

From missing the call for his event by two minutes - which Hodgetts says wasn’t his fault - to ripping his shirt off on national television, to a phone call from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the three-time Paralympian has had a lot going on in Tokyo.

Australian shot put athlete during Todd Hodgetts Tuesday night’s event. Credit:OIS

Hodgett revealed he’d been told the wrong time that he needed to be at the call room.

“The call room time they had given me was the wrong time,” Hodgett said. “I was two minutes too late. That’s life. I can’t change it.

“I was ready to compete and represent my country and I was there to show those guys up. [At] least I went out on the field and I had the green and gold on. I knew I was late but what happened was the Ukraines put a protest in [because they knew people were late]. It’s unfair. I wasn’t obviously happy about it. I definitely wasn’t going to cry about it that’s for sure. I was quite angry last night.”

With AP

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