Men's 200m T44 and Men's 400m T44 - Para-sprinter Liam Malone

Liam Malone won his first Gold in the Men's 200m T44 and his SECOND Gold in the Men's 400m T44 following his Silver in the Men's 100m T44.
(Check Paralympic Sport Classification if you are keen to know more about T44 and other sport classes.)

Liam's great finish in the 400m T44 set a new Paralympic Record of 46.20 seconds. (From https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/athletics-standings-at-mens-400m-t43-44)
It's just 0.11 seconds to the New Zealand's able-bodied record in the 400m. (46.09 seconds by Shaun Farrell in 07 Mar 1998 - from Athletics New Zealand http://www.anzrankings.org.nz/site/records_con)



As in Men's 100m T44 Para-sprinter Liam Malone, he received some support from people in New Zealand when he had a dream to become an athlete after his mother passed away.
He made his dream come true, and didn't forget to mention about people, who supported him.
Not only an athlete, he now became a New Zealand's cyborg overlord?


He is the one to keep your eyes on!

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Record breaking 15 medals for New Zealand Para Swimmer Sophie Pascoe

What an amazing achievement by New Zealand Paralympic swimmer Sophie Pascoe!!!

5 medals (3 Gold + 2 Silver) from Rio 2016
6 medals (3 Gold + 3 Silver) from London 2012
4 medals (3 Gold + 1 Silver) from Beijing 2008

= Total 15 medals (9 Gold + 6 Silver)

The details:

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
Gold - Women's 100m Butterfly S10
Gold - Women's 200m Individual Medley SM10
Gold - Women's 100m Backstroke S10
Silver - Women's 100m Freestyle S10
Silver - Women's 50m Freestyle S10

London 2012 Paralympic Games
Gold (World Record) - Women's 200m Individual Medley SM10
Gold (World Record) - Women's 100m Butterfly S10
Gold - Women's 100m Freestyle S10
Silver - Women's 50m Freestyle S10
Silver - Women's 100m Breaststroke SB9
Silver - Women's 100m Backstroke S10

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Gold - Women's 100m Breaststroke SB9
Gold - Women's 200m Individual Medley SM10
Gold - Women's 100m Backstroke S10
Silver - Women's 100m Butterfly S10

Medal Information for Paralympics 2016 Rio from:
https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/athlete/sophie-pascoe

Medal Information for 2012 London Paralympic Games / 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games from:
http://www.paralympics.org.nz/Para-Athletes/Athlete-Profiles/Sophie-Pascoe


But more than the medals, her story won my heart!

Sophie Pascoe dedicates NZ's 200th Paralympic medal to late friend, training partner
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/84126295/sophie-pascoe-dedicates-nzs-200th-paralympic-medal-to-late-friend-training-partner

Sophie was swimming for her training partner friend, Hayley Edmond, who passed away from cancer on 1 September 2016, just before the Rio Paralympic Games.
I can't imagine how hard it was to concentrate on the games.

Sophie Pascoe keeps her promise, while taking Paralympics mainstream in NZ
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/84201188/sophie-pascoe-keeps-her-promise-while-taking-paralympics-mainstream-in-nz

Another story she mentioned about her grandfather; she promised her dying grandfather John Goodman that she would win a Paralympics gold medal in his honour when she was only nine. And she kept her promise with him!!!
He would be very proud of his granddaughter!

According to the above news article, she is an ambassador for New Zealand Beef and Lamb, and won many awards for her achievement. (And more Gold and Silver medals from Commonwealth Games and other Championships on top of Paralympic Games.)

She says:
"disabled sport to be treated equally"

"Equalisation means everything to me because I don't treat anyone with a disability differently...

"I want to be a person who leaves a legacy for people with disabilities in New Zealand.

"I don't want to be remembered as Sophie Pascoe the swimmer. I'd like to be remembered for what I did in and out of the pool."

What a remarkable person she is!

"Equalisation" is one of the reasons I started this blog.
I really admire her and truly believe that she will leave a legacy for people with disabilities in New Zealand and the world!!!
I look forward to seeing her competing in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.


Sophie was two years old when she lost her lower left leg. Her father was mowing the lawns when she fell under the ride-on mower's blade.
To get to know more about Sophie,

Check 'About Me' page on her official site
http://www.sophiepascoe.com/about-me/

or

Buy her autobiography!

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Men's 100m T44 Para-sprinter Liam Malone

New Zealand Liam Malone won a Silver Medal in the Men's 100m T44 at Rio 2016 Paralympics!

Emotional para-sprinter Liam Malone pays tribute to mum after snatching Paralympic silver (Stuff.co.nz)

He became an athlete only three years ago. He even had no idea if he was a fast sprinter or not.
He shared his dream to get to the Paralympics on national television in 2013 and got $20,000 of donations from members of the public to buy a set of blades.

He won the silver medal last Saturday and it was his mother's birthday. She passed away four years ago from cancer.
He was "trying to overcome the consequences of her death" when he started this Paralympic journey.

Congratulations, Liam!

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Hitomi Onishi - prosthetic leg with hibiscus flowers

Hitomi Onishi, a 39-year-old Japanese athlete, is talking about how important the alignment of the prosthetic leg is.
It can be adjusted precisely, but she said it is hard to keep the best alignment.

She set the new Asia record for Women's 100m - T42 in June this year, and wanted to keep the exact alignment of the prosthetic leg.
She kept it in the car as it is, but later she found that it has been loosened.

Blue background with hibiscus flowers - her prosthetic leg stands out.
She said she chose the design because she likes the ocean.

Hitomi joined a running club after her prosthetist told her that if she can run, she can walk beautifully.
She just wanted to walk smoothly and beautifully with the prosthetic limb, and started running, then became a Paralympian.


Participants in The discussion are:
Satoshi Saida (Wheelchair Tennis Men's Singles / Wheelchair Tennis Men's Doubles)
Kota Hokinoue (Athletics Men's Marathon - T52/53/54)
Interviewer: Hidetsugu Shibata (Comedian)
Hitomi Onishi (Athletics Women's 100m - T42 / Athletics Women's Long Jump - T42)
Kozo Kubo (Athletics Men's 5000m - T53/54 / Athletics Men's Marathon - T52/53/54)

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TV schedule and Video on demand guide for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in New Zealand

Great news!

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will be on TV ONE, DUKE(free-to-air TV on Freeview Channel 13), TVNZ OnDemand and AttitudeLive, so we can watch the Paralympic Games for FREE!


TV coverage details for Rio 2016 Paralympics are:

From 8 - 19 September 2016 in NZ Time
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games - Live and Delayed Coverage (DUKE)
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/paralympics2016/schedule

Rio 2016 Paralympics Highlights - Daily Highlights (TV ONE)
9:30 pm - 10:30pm


RIO 2016 PARALYMPIC GAMES - Video On Demand (TVNZ OnDemand)
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/paralympics

or

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games - Video On Demand (AttitudeLive)
http://attitudelive.com/rio-2016-paralympics/


Don't miss the Rio 2016 Paralympics Opening Ceremony!!!

LIVE COVERAGE: Paralympics Opening Ceremony on Thursday, 8 September (tomorrow!!!)
9am - 12:30pm on DUKE

What is Duke channel and how can we watch it?
I didn't know about DUKE until today. It's a quite new TV channel, launched on 20 March this year (2016), by TVNZ. It is available on Freeview channel 13 and Sky channel 23. (From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_(New_Zealand))

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NZ Paralympic team announced

The NZ Paralympic team is announced at Sky city


Goooo the New Zealand Paralympic team!!!


From New Zealand Paralympic team gathers in Auckland prior to Rio Games http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82278632/New-Zealand-Paralympic-team-gathers-in-Auckland-prior-to-Rio-Games

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