Paris 2024: Top medal moments on Day 8

The action is underway on day eight of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with brilliant medal moments across many Para sports.

Japan win gold in wheelchair tennis

Japanese pair Yui Kamiji and Manami Tanaka came from behind to beat the Netherlands’ Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot in the wheelchair tennis women’s doubles tournament at Roland-Garros Stadium.

The Japanese duo pulled off a 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-8 win over the Dutch pair in a match lasting about three hours. The Netherlands lost the women’s doubles title for the first time since the event was introduced at Barcelona 1992.

Kamiji and Tanaka became the first Japanese women to win a gold medal in wheelchair tennis.

"They are really good players, and they have a lot of titles on clay courts and other surfaces as well. We focused on how we can make our timing and position, and it really worked. It was really tough, but we made it,” said Kamiji, who will face de Groot in the women’s singles final on 6 September.

"The Dutch have such a long history in wheelchair tennis. I saw Esther Vergeer watching our match. She’s the legend. That’s why many players followed in her footsteps and made a career out of wheelchair tennis.

“We are lucky that we can challenge the Dutch and make history ourselves." 

France win the day's first Para cycling road gold 

France's Florian Jouanny won gold in the men's road race H1-2, retaining his Tokyo 2020 position to start the Para cycling road day at Clichy-sous-Bois.

The rain didn't stop Jouanny from reaching his goals in front of a home crowd.

"It's a hard course, but it brought a lot of pleasure, particularly with all the supporters who shouted my name and who encouraged us in the closing stages. It makes you forget the suffering a bit."

In the women's road race H1-4, Australia's Lauren Parker won gold, her third medal of Paris 2024 having won gold in Para triathlon PTWC and silver in the H1-3 individual time trial.

“I am so stoked. I really can't believe what I’ve accomplished in these Games. Two golds and one silver (road cycling, H1-3 individual time trial) - I couldn’t be more happy," Parker said.

The International Paralympic Committee's former brand manager Annika Zeyen-Giles took bronze for Germany. This is Zeyen-Giles' second bronze of Paris 2024, also coming third in the women's H1-3 individual time trial.

Martinet takes silver in front of home crowd 

In front of a vocal crowd at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, French Para judo star Sandrine Martinet took silver in the women’s J2 –48kg event. It was the fifth medal for the home hero.

“It is the most magnificent medal of the five (Paralympic medals) I’ve got,” said Martinet, who lost to Kazakhstan’s Akmaral Nauatbek in the final. 

“It has been extremely difficult to get it because I had big health issues for a year. It's been really, really hard to be here.”  

Para athletes contend through rain

Stade de France saw eight medal events in the morning Para athletics session, with Para athletes winning despite the rain at Stade de France.

Mouncef Bouja of Morocco won his first ever Paralympic medal, crossing the finish line of the men’s 400m T12 final first to secure gold.

“I am so proud of this. I came here after lots of sacrifices and lots of expectations. I prepared myself to try to beat the world record,” he said.

Algeria's Skander Djamil Athmani won gold in the men’s 400m T13 final, gaining his second gold of the Games after winning the men’s 100m T13

“It makes me so happy. It was my goal. I came here for two gold medals, so today I accomplished my goal," Athmani said.

As Paralympic and world record holder, Athmani was also hoping for a world record, saying:

"My biggest aim was to get one gold medal plus one (world) record. Pity that the record didn’t come because of today’s rain, but winning a second gold medal was the main thing and I am very satisfied with my exploit. Now I need some vacation. I want to sleep.”

His compatriot Safia Djelal also retained her Tokyo 2020 title, winning gold in the women's shot put F57.

In the evening session, Vanessa Low of Australia set a world record in the women’s long jump T63 final, while Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland and Omara Durand of Cuba continued their dominant Paris 2024 campaigns with gold medals in the women’s 400m T53 and women’s 100m T12 finals respectively.

Türkiye win third straight goalball gold

Goalball great Sevda Altunoluk and Fatma Gul Guler scored four goals each to lead Türkiye to the top of the podium in the women’s goalball tournament. Türkiye defeated Israel 8-3, winning their third straight gold medal.

“Three finals, three championships, three gold medals,” said Altunoluk, who became the first person to win three Paralympic gold medals in goalball. 

"I can't explain my feelings because I am so happy and the feeling is so deep." 

Japan's men's team won their first-ever Paralympic goalball medal, securing gold with a 4-3 overtime win over Ukraine.

Japan secure mixed team boccia bronze

Hidetaka Sugimura, Hiromi Endo and Takayuki Hirose of Japan defeated Republic of Korea 8-3 in the mixed team BC1/BC2 to secure a bronze medal in boccia at South Paris Arena.

For Endo, this bronze followed her women's individual BC1 bronze, making this her second medal of the Games.

"I am happy. I didn't expect to win two medals at my first Paralympic Games," she said. 

"My primary goal was to enjoy myself at the Games. To return home with two medals is thrilling."

New Paralympic powerlifting champions crowned

Egypt topped the podium in two events on Thursday at La Chapelle Arena, with Mohamed Elmenyawy winning his first Paralympic gold at his first Games in the men’s up to 59kg final and Rehab Ahmed earning her first gold in the women’s up to 55kg final after silver medals at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

The men’s up to 65kg final gold went to China’s Zou Yi, the reigning world champion.

“Compared to the world title, I feel more excited for this one. The meaning is different. I’ve won at the world championships, and I was missing the Paralympic gold. I’m thankful to the people around me who have been supporting me and encouraging me to keep going.”

While Venezuela’s Clara Sarah Fuentes Monasterio lifted 97kg to win the women’s up to 41kg bronze in Tokyo, in Paris she has set a Paralympic record, lifting 124kg to win the women’s up to 50kg gold.

Aurelie Rivard returns to the top of the podium

Canada’s Aurelie Rivard is back on top of the Paralympic podium for her first Para swimming gold of Paris 2024, winning the women’s 400m freestyle S10. She has now medalled in all three of her finals at La Défense Arena, with one event remaining. Despite taking 100m freestyle S10 silver and 50m freestyle S10 bronze, Rivard was aiming higher.

“It’s surreal right now because it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do - prepare for this race,” said Rivard.

“Especially mentally - ever since the 2022 world championships when I couldn’t finish (this event), but also at the beginning of the week when I had two disappointing performances. I had to find the confidence to show up tonight and deliver. It took a lot and I am really proud. I am happy I was able to overcome my fears.”

Brazil’s Talisson Henrique Glock has also won all of his events in Paris so far, adding silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S6 to his two bronze medals.

“I am very happy with the result of this race, it is not even my speciality. Every day that passes, I am developing better in the long-distance races. In Tokyo, I got bronze, so coming away with silver here is very gratifying. It means an evolution.”

China swept another Para swimming podium on Thursday, this time the men’s 50m freestyle S5. Guo Jincheng took gold and set a new world record, winning his fifth medal at what is his first Paralympic Games.

Para archery redemption for Stefano Travisani

The final Para archery medals have been awarded, with Italy taking the mixed team recurve open gold medal and Türkiye the silver.

“Yesterday, for me, was a really bad day,” said Italy’s Stefano Travisani, who ended Paris 2024 on a high note with Elisabetta Mijno after losing his men’s individual recurve open 1/16 elimination round match-up.

“I really can’t imagine then to finish like this, one day later. I did a miracle, I don’t know, and I love this sport for this reason.”

Slovenia’s Dejan Fabcic and Ziva Lavrinc took bronze.

“It’s meant a lot to me,” said Fabcic. “It’s my third Paralympic sport. I started with swimming and I competed at Beijing 2008, and then kayaking at Rio 2016. Now, I found archery, and it’s my first Paralympic medal, so I’m sticking to archery.”

Feng Panfeng hits milestone 10th Paralympic gold

Third time was unfortunately not the charm for Germany’s Thomas Schmidberger, who met Chinese Para table tennis player Feng Panfeng in the Paralympic men’s singles MS3 final for the third time in a row, with Feng taking the win to earn his 10th Paralympic gold medal and fifth consecutive in the event.

“When I started playing and competed at the (Beijing) 2008 Paralympic Games, I didn’t think about how many titles I wanted to win in a row. I just thought if I could win just one gold medal, that will do,” said Feng.

“He is a great sportsman,” Schmidberger said of Feng.

“He doesn’t think is something better than others. He is very fair, very strong, very impressive over many years. He can be an idol for any sportsman.”

Netherlands’ Kelly van Zon won her fourth Paralympic women’s singles WS7 title, while Natsuki Wada earned Japan’s first-ever women’s Para table tennis gold in the women’s singles WS11.

Final shooting Para sport gold awarded

The Paris 2024 shooting Para sport competition came to a close with Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop taking gold in the R6 mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 final, setting a Paralympic record of 250.2 in the process.

“I made some small mistakes at the start and I had to correct those,” said Hiltrop.

“I knew what I did wrong and went from there. I am very content with my performance. It was a hard competition.”

Double wheelchair fencing gold for China

China topped the podium in both the women’s and the men’s foil team competitions, both by a score of 45-34, with Hungary taking silver in the women’s event and Great Britain the silver in the men’s.

Despite losing to China in the gold medal bout, silver still meant the world to Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Krajnyak and Eva Andrea Hajmasi.

“We’re searching for words. Right now we can’t put into words what we feel. It’s huge happiness, all the hard work has paid off right now,” said Krajnyak. This was the Hungarian duo’s best result in the women's foil team competition since Rio 2016, when they also took silver.

Follow for more medal moments through the day.