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Day 5 of Athletics sees champions back on track
David Weir, Michael McKillop and Terezinha Guihermina have already won the gold in a previous event of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, but they come for more on Day 5. 03 Sep 2012
David Weir from Great Britain takes gold in the men's 5000m T54 and comes for more on Day 5.
In the men’s shot put F11/12, the reigning Paralympic champion David Casino will be going for his second gold of the London Games, having won the discus F11 on Sunday.
After the excitement of the men’s 5,000m T54 on Sunday evening, where Britain’s world champion David Weir clinched gold, the rivalry between Weir, Marcel Hug and Kurt Fearnley is reignited – this time in the 1500m T54 heats. Hug is the world record holder in the event, but will the home support prove favourable for Weir, the reigning Paralympic champion?
Fresh from winning gold in the men’s 800m T37 on Saturday, Irishman Michael McKillop targets his next medal - the men’s 1500m T37, where British rival Dean Miller will be hoping to stop him.
And after Friday’s heats, the finalists in the men’s 1500m T11 are back in action for the medal decider. Odair Santos of Brazil is the current world record holder but faces fierce competition from the fastest qualifier in the first heat, Samwel Mushai Kimani of Kenya.
Tim Sullivan will be hoping for a better performance in the 400m T38 final after narrowly qualifying in the heats. The Australian was leading with 50m to go but was overtaken by three athletes before the finish line and made to wait until the result of the final heat before learning his fate. The Paralympic record holder faces the likes of Abbes Saidi of Tunisia and Wenjun Zhou of China.
Tatyana McFadden opens up her London 2012 campaign when she takes to the track in the heats of the women’s 400m T54 event on Monday morning. The American was one of the stars of the track at the IPC World Championships last year, winning four golds, a silver and a bronze. She’ll be hoping to progress to the final in the evening, as will two Swiss athletes - world bronze medallist Manuela Schaer, and Edith Wolf, who claimed gold on Sunday in the women’s 5000m T54.
Following her domination in the 200m T11 this week, Terezinha Guilhermina returns for the semi-finals of the women’s 400m T12 event. She faces world record holder and favourite Assia El Hannouni of France. Guilhermina’s fellow Brazilians, Joana Helena Silva and Viviane Soares, will do battle in the final of the women’s 400m T13.
In the field events, Beijing gold medallist and world record holder Arnaud Assoumani will be out to defend his title in the men’s long jump F46. The Frenchman will be back up against his biggest rival Liu Fuliang of China who beat him to triple jump gold on Saturday.
In the men’s shot put F11/12, the reigning Paralympic champion David Casino will be going for his second gold of the London Games, having won the discus F11 on Sunday. The Spaniard faces a tough field which includes Vladimir Andryushchenko, silver medallist in Beijing, and Vasyl Lishchnskyi, London 2012 discus F11 silver medallist behind Casino.
Watch out too for the women’s javelin F52/53/33/34, which enjoys a stellar line-up including the F53 world record holder Esther Rivera and F34 world record holder Birgit Kober.
Poland’s long jump F20 world record holder Karolina Kucharczyk battles it out for women’s long jump F20 gold against the likes of Mikela Ristoki, the world long jump F20 champion from Croatia.
Related Images
Ireland's Michael McKillop in action at London 2012.
Terezinha Guilhermina of Brazil wants to smash her own world records in London.