Zhou wins 100m to boost China's tally to 20

TOKYO • Athletics got under way at the Tokyo Paralympics yesterday, with Brazil snagging the first track gold.

A range of other sports also started, including archery and judo, which is being contested at the iconic Budokan venue, just like at the Olympics.

A total of 45 golds were up for grabs yesterday, with China surging clear at the top of the table and the Brazilian showing his country's prowess on the track.

China moved to 20 golds, with track cyclist Li Zhangyu winning his third successive men's 1,000m time trial C1-3 title.

Qi Yongkai lifted 187kg to win the men's -59kg powerlifting event, while Zhou Xia won the women's 100m T35 for her country's first track gold medal in Tokyo with a world-record time of 13.00 seconds.

"I'm super excited," she said. "I didn't expect myself to be this fast. All my hard work paid off. I want to thank everyone for their support and I will work harder to fight for my country."

The athletics programme began with the world's fastest para-sprinter, Brazilian Petrucio Ferreira dos Santos, gunning for the title of fastest Paralympian in history in the T47 100m.

Dos Santos, who has been called "the Usain Bolt of para-athletics", clocked a world-record 10.43sec at the 2019 Dubai World Championships.

On his running philosophy, the 24-year-old, whose arm was amputated below the elbow after a childhood accident, said that he was simply enjoying what he liked to do, which was "running around like a child".

Dos Santos comfortably won his race and gold in 10.53sec ahead of Poland's Michal Derus (10.61) and fellow Brazilian Washington Jr (10.68).

Compatriot Yeltsin Jacques became the first track gold medallist here, squeezing out Japan's Kenya Karasawa to top the podium in the men's 5,000m T11 final.

Jacques, who is visually impaired and runs with a guide, said his win was the culmination of five years of training.

"I have speed, I have energy. I'm naturally fast, it's genetics," he said.

Fellow Brazilian Silvania Costa de Oliveira meanwhile took the first gold of the field events, successfully retaining the title she won in Rio in the women's T11 long jump.

Separately, a visually impaired man was hit by a self-driving bus at the Paralympic Village in Tokyo, organisers said yesterday. But they claimed the accident, which happened a day earlier at a pedestrian crossing, left no "external injury".

Toyota, the manufacturer of the autonomous shuttle buses used in the compound, said it had suspended operation of the vehicles.

"We deeply apologise to those who suffered injuries. We are fully cooperating with the police on the case," the company added.

The person hit by the vehicle was not officially identified, but several local media outlets named the injured pedestrian as Japanese judoka Aramitsu Kitazono.

They said the 30-year-old fell and will need two weeks to recover from his injuries, with public broadcaster NHK reporting that he will miss his bout today due to "his bad physical condition".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA