Paris 2024: Durand stamps dominance with fourth successive gold

Cuban legend Omara Durand does it again! 

She arrived and scorched the purple track at the Stade de France Tuesday morning (3 September) winning her ninth Paralympic gold medal and fourth in a row. Durand crossed the finish line with a season best 53.59 in women's 400m T12 finals.    

The Cuban, also a 14-time World championship gold, already had a brilliant record in Paris - she took three gold at Paris 2023 Worlds - and on Tuesday, she showed why she is the best. She synchronised well with her guide Yuniol Kindelan Vargas to attain her first success in Paris. 

She also later made her intentions clear of winning the gold medals in 100m and 200m races. 

"I am enjoying it a lot. I did my best time of the season, but I came here to get a medal. I was not worried about any specific time.

“These are my fifth Paralympic Games, the only time I didn’t get a medal was in Beijing (2008). I am a fulfilled athlete and I feel very happy about everything I have accomplished in my sports career. 

“It has been a beautiful story. Now I will run the 100m and the 200m (T12) and get the other two gold medals,” said the 32-year-old whose success was one of the two gold won by Cuba this morning.

"I am going to eat everything I couldn’t before. I always told my guide that I wanted to get the medal, then go to the Village and eat some 🍕pizza, eat some 🍫sweets, an 🍦ice cream. Then, me and my wife are travelling to Disneyland Paris to celebrate.”

- Yeltsin Jacques 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/9eUBz9PNur

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) September 3, 2024

Records for Turner, Jacques

Before Durand showed her class, Australia's James Turner captivated the morning crowd with a dominating show in the men's 400m T36 finals. He  defended his Tokyo 2020 title in style - winning it with a world and Paralympic record effort of 51.54. 

“To be able to bring this home for the team is just amazing.

“That has to be the best I’ve ever run. It wasn’t effortless even if it looked it. 

"It’s a lot of hard work. You have to do the right process and belief in that is what gets you across the line," said the seven-time world champion Turner.

The conditions were rainy for a brief while but that didn't bother Brazilian Yeltsin Jacques. The Tokyo 2020 champion put up a scintillating show, running the men's 1500m T11, with his guide Guilherme Ademils dos Anjos Santos, in an impressive 3:55.82 - enough to set a new world and Paralympic record.

“I am very happy to have another gold, very happy for my country. After everything I’ve been through - injury, illness, to come here and get a medal, it’s very special.”

“It was good to run in the rain, it worked. The track here is very good, the best I have ever run in my life,” said Jacques on the conditions.

Swiss legend Catherine Debrunner was also in action at the Stade de France this morning and she finished as expected - clocking a Paralympic record time of 3:13.10 in women's 1500m T54 finals.    

Among other nations winning on Tuesday morning were China claimed two gold, while Latvia and Canada claimed one each. 

Here's the medallists on day five of Para athletics competition morning session at the Stade de France.

Men's Long Jump T47 Final
Gold: Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes (CUB)
Silver: Hao Wang (CHN)
Bronze: Nikita Kotukov (NPA)

Women's Javelin Throw F56 Final
Gold: Diana Krumina (LAT)
Silver: Raissa Rocha Machado (BRA)
Bronze: Sitong Lin (CHN)

Men's 1500m T11 Final
Gold: Yeltsin Jacques (BRA)
Silver: Yitayal Silesh Yigzaw (ETH)
Bronze: Julio Cesar Agripino dos Santos (BRA)

Men's 1500m T13 Final
Gold: Aleksandr Kostin (NPA)
Silver: Rouay Jebabli (TUN)
Bronze: Anton Kuliatin (NPA)

Men's 200m T51 Final
Gold: Cody Fournie (CAN)
Silver: Toni Piispanen (FIN)
Bronze: Peter Genyn (BEL)

Women's Shot Put F34 Final
Gold: Lijuan Zou (CHN)
Silver: Lucyna Kornobys (POL)
Bronze: Saida Amoudi (MAR)

Women's Discus Throw F11 Final
Gold: Liangmin Zhang (CHN)
Silver: Assunta Legnante (ITA)
Bronze: Enhui Xue (CHN)

Men's 400m T36 Final
Gold: James Turner (AUS)
Silver: William Stedman (NZL)
Bronze: Alexis Sebastian Chavez (ARG)

Women's 400m T12 Final
Gold: Omara Durand Elias (CUB)
Silver: Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani (IRI)
Bronze: Oksana Boturchuk (UKR)

Women's 1500m T54 Final
Gold: Catherine Debrunner (SUI)
Silver: Samantha Kinghorn (GBR)
Bronze: Susannah Scaroni (USA)