Kiwi swim star Sophie Pascoe will make her Tokyo Paralympics debut on Thursday, hoping to add to her incredible Games legacy.
Pascoe, named an NZ team 'Hāpai Kara' (leader) earlier this week, will contest 100m breaststroke heats and (hopefully) final at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre, chasing her 10th Paralympic gold medal and 17th medal overall.
After winning this event at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, she chose to drop the breaststroke from her programme at Rio de Janiero five years ago, when she surpassed Eve Rimmer as our most successful Paralympian.
Pascoe, 28, tells Newshub she has adjusted her goals for the Tokyo Games, after struggling for motivation through the COVID-19 disruptions and 2020 Paralympics postponement.
"I'll be very ecstatic with getting onto the podium and that's where I'm at. I may even surprise myself, but I think it's a great way to be going into this Games.
"It's an amazing achievement for me to be here, so to tick those goals off day by day over the race schedule is what I'm looking forward to the most."
The only other Kiwis in action on the second day at Tokyo are the Wheel Blacks, hoping to bounce back from their opening loss against USA, when they face Great Britain.
Today's schedule for NZ athletes (NZ times) is:
Thursday, August 26
SWIMMING
2:05pm Women’s 100m breaststroke heats - Sophie Pascoe (SB8)
10:40pm Women’s 100m breaststroke final - Sophie Pascoe (SB8)
WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
8:30pm Group B - Wheel Blacks v Great Britain (Mixed)
While no Kiwis climbed the podium on the opening day of competition at Tokyo, cyclists Anna Taylor and Nicole Murray provided early highlights at the Izu Velodrome.
Taylor could not progress past C4 3000m individual pursuit qualifying, but raced to an early Paralympic record on the super-fast banked track, before her faster rivals took over. Australian Emily Petricola eventually took gold with a 3m 38.061s world record.
"The race was like a blur really, lots of adrenaline and excitement for me," reflects Taylor, a former rower, who suffered a severe disc prolapse and compressed spinal cord that has reduced leg strength.
"I enjoyed knowing I had broken the Paralympic record, even if only for a short time."
Murray recorded the fourth-fastest time in qualifying for C5 pursuit qualifying, but lost her bronze-medal ride againstr Frenchwoman Marie Patouillet.
"There was some very tough competition today, including riding against the world recordholder in my first race," says Murray, whose left hand is amputated below the wrist.
"In the bronze medal ride-off, I was in a good headspace in terms of nerves. I was happy that I achieved the goals my coach and I had set, keeping splits consistent up to the last four laps, when I just did not have that extra bit in my legs."
Both will return to the velodrome on Friday for the 500m time trial.
Wednesday, August 25
SWIMMING
Men’s 400m freestyle heats - Jesse Reynolds (S9), 4m 30.34s 7th (did not progress)
CYCLING
Women’s 3000m individual pursuit qualifying - Sarah Ellington (C2), 4m 12.506s 11th (did not progress)
Women’s 3000m individual pursuit qualifying - Anna Taylor (C4), 3m 54.167s 5th (did not progress)
Women’s 3000m individual pursuit qualifying - Nicole Murray (C5), 3m 45.010s 4th (progressed to bronze medal race)
Women’s 3000m individual pursuit bronze medal race - Nicole Murray (C5) 3m 44.482 lost to Marie Patouillet (France) 3m 39.233s (fourth)
WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
2:30pm Group B - Wheel Blacks (Mixed) lost to USA 63-35
Paralympic classifications
Each athlete is given a classification, depending on the severity of their impairment. Here is a brief summary of classifications for the NZ Paralympic team...
CYCLING
C2 = Bicycle, spinal injury
C4 = Bicycle, partial loss of power
C5 = Bicycle, limb deficiency
SWIMMING
S9/SB9/SM10 = Swimming, leg deficiency below knee
In swimming, some impairments affect some strokes more than others, hence multiple classifications.
