Toronto 2015: Preview of the final day of athletics

Cuba’s Omara Durand looks to wrap up her historic week in the Parapan American Games on Friday. 14 Aug 2015
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blindfolded runner with guide and another female runner crossing a finish line

Omara Durand (L) of Cuba and Terezinha Guilhermina (R) of Brazil compete in the Women's 100 meters qualifying at the Caixa Loterias 2015 Paralympics Athletics and Swimming Open Championships

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By IPC

The last day of athletics at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games wraps up on Friday (14 August), giving spectators one last glimpse of the fastest female para-athlete – Cuba’s Omara Durand.

Durand will go for her third gold medal in Toronto in the 200m T12 finals. On Thursday’s semifinal heat, the 23-year-old smashed the world record with a time of 23.87 seconds. It was one of Durand’s historic achievements in Toronto 2015. On Monday, she clocked the fastest women’s 100m time at 11.65 seconds, which was previously owned by South Africa’s Ilse Hayes (11.89) of the T13 class set back in April.

Twenty-six medals will be available on Friday’s final athletics day, and Brazil expect to distance themselves at the top of the medal standings.

They will especially look to Terezinha Guilhermina, who already holds a gold medal in the 100m T11 and could add two more. The 36-year-old Paralympic and world champion will take on the 200m and 400m T11 races, hoping to show she is in strong form ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Fellow country woman and teenage-speedster Veronica Hipolito is coming off a 200m T38 win and will conclude her first Parapan American Games experience with the 400m T38 event on Friday. The 19-year-old has won three medals – including two golds – and can set herself up for success ahead of October’s IPC Athletics World Championships.

Another rising talent is Argentina’s Lis Scaroni, who looks to close her first Parapans with double-gold. The 19-year-old is fresh off a victory in the women’s 200m T37 and seeks to carry that over into the 100m side on Friday.

The women’s 100m T36 race may feature a battle between Brazil’s American record holder Tascitha Oliveira Cruz and Argentina’s Yanina Martinez, who ousted Cruz for gold in the 100m T36.

Brazil’s Paralympic champion Alan Fonteles Cardoso de Oliveira has one last chance to leave Toronto 2015 with a gold medal when he races in the men’s 200m T44, where he will be challenged by USA’s David Prince. Oliveira holds one silver medal after being out kicked by USA’s Jarryd Wallace’s world-record sprint in the 100m race.

Brazil’s Mateus Evangelista Cardoso will go for a third gold medal in the 200m T37, while compatriot and 18-year-old Petrucio Ferreira Dos Santos will seek gold No. 2 in the T47 equivalent.

Four-time London 2012 Paralympic champion USA’s Raymond Martin, owner of two gold medals in Toronto 2015, will look to close things out in the 1,500m T52 race. On the T11 equivalent, Canada’s Jason Dunkerley could give the home crowd something to cheer for when he aims for his second win.

The final race on the track will feature the men’s 4x100m relay T11-13, with the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Columbia looking to secure the final athletics medals.

For the field events, Cuba’s London 2012 Paralympic champion and world-record holder Luis Gutierrez is the one to watch in the men’s long jump T13.

A live stream will be available via the IPC Athletics homepage. Also visit Toronto 2015’s website for live and full athletics results.