Double delight for Toh

He had just broken his own national record, but a smiling Toh Wei Soong was in fact also celebrating a fellow competitor's silver-medal achievement in the men's S7 50m freestyle final at the Tokyo Paralympics yesterday.

The 22-year-old Singaporean swimmer clocked 28.65sec at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, eclipsing the 29.01sec mark he first set at the 2018 Asian Para Games and earlier in the heats as he finished seventh in the final.

The event was won by Ukraine's Andrii Trusov in 27.43sec while compatriot Yevhenii Bohodaiko took the bronze in 27.99sec. Colombian Carlos Daniel Serrano Zarate (27.84sec) separated the two Ukrainians.

But as the swimmers lingered in the pool after the race, Toh, who has transverse myelitis - a condition caused by the inflammation of the spinal cord - was pictured with a broad smile on his face.

He explained: "I was smiling because of the swimmer next to me, Carlos. Seeing the excitement in his face when he won the silver, it would be very difficult not to share that moment with him, having raced him for many years now.

"Of course, I was also happy that I was able to smash through the 29-second barrier at this Paralympic Games."

Looking ahead to his last race, the 50m butterfly on Friday, he added: "I'm in a very good headspace now and the plan is just to continue maintaining this good feeling, this confidence, going into the race on Friday.

"There are targets and expectations I have for myself, but when it really comes down to it, focusing too hard on those expectations is not what's going to get you the results."

This is Toh's first Paralympic campaign. In his first event on Sunday, he was also seventh in the S7 400m freestyle final.

While the swimmer had something to cheer about, the same could not be said for national tandem cyclist Steve Tee and his pilot Ang Kee Meng.

The pair's last event at the Tokyo Paralympics was marred by a broken chainring that left them unable to finish the men's B time trial (road) event at the Fuji International Speedway.

Despite multiple attempts to fix the issue, the chainring kept coming off and they could not complete the 32km race.

The event was won by French cyclist Alexandre Lloveras and his pilot Corentin Ermenault in 41min 54.02sec, with the Netherlands' Vincent ter Schure and Timo Fransen taking the silver in 42:00.77. Spaniards Christian Venge Balboa and Noel Martin Infante were third in 42:52.12.

While it was not how Tee and Ang had envisioned their campaign ending, they were pleased with their performance at the Tokyo Games, where they achieved two personal bests in the B 4,000m individual pursuit and B 1,000m time trial events.

They finished ninth out of 14 pairs in the individual pursuit and eighth out of 10 in the time trial.

Tee, who is visually impaired, said: "Overall, we are really happy with our debut results, hitting our targets of breaking personal bests and getting into the top 10 in both events. I would say it has been a fruitful Games."

Their next competition will be next year's Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, where they are aiming for podium finishes in their track events.

But for now, Tee, 40, and Ang, 34, are looking forward to heading back to Singapore for some rest and to reunite with friends and family.

Ang said: "This Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games experience has been a fulfilling one. We have sacrificed a lot to get here. For us to realise a shared dream together, is something we will never, ever forget.

"We have many people to thank for being with us on our journey. We saw many people from all walks of life cheering us and supporting us from back home.

The first thing I will do upon returning to Singapore is give my loved ones a big hug."

Women's SB12 100m breaststroke final (6.49pm)

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