Team SA was on fire at the Tokyo Paralympics after three members of the dynamite squad set African records on Friday.
Sprinter Sheryl James set off on the race of her life to finish second in her 200m (T37) heat in a South African and African record 27.73sec. James was some 0.65 seconds faster than the previous Paralympic record of 28.42 that had stood for 21 years, having being held by Australia’s Lisa Macintosh.
Swimmer Christian Sadie also set a South African and African record in qualifying sixth fastest overall. He led through halfway of the men’s 200m IM (SM7) and touched the wall in 2:36.75.
Alani Ferreira became the third Team SA member to break a national and African record, but her 5:02.42 in the women’s 400m freestyle (S13) wasn’t enough to see her into the final.
Here’s a look at all the action on Friday thus far:
Archery:
Men’s Individual (W1), ranking round: Shaun Anderson finished 7th with 637 points
Men’s Individual Compound, Open, ranking round: Philip Coates-Palgrave placed 36th with a total score of 646 points
Athletics:
Men’s 100m (T12), heats: Jonathan Ntutu finished 3rd in his heat in a season’s best 11.23 but missed out on a place in the final
Men’s javelin (F38), final: Reinhardt Hamman finished 6th with a season’s best 52.49m on his 5th throw. The gold was won by Colombia’s Jose Lemos Rivas in a world record 60.31m with his first throw
Women’s 200m (T37), heats: Liezel Gouws finished 5th in her heat but was disqualified afterwards under rule WPA 18.5a for stepping out of her lane during the race
Women’s 200m (T37), heats: Sheryl James finished 2nd in her heat in an African record 27.73sec to qualify for tonight’s final as 4th fastest overall
Men’s 100m (T37), heats: Charl du Toit finished 5th in his heat in 11.58 and the 2016 Paralympic gold medallist qualified for tonight’s final as 8th fastest. The USA’s Nick Mayhugh set a WR 10.97 in the same heat
Swimming:
Men’s 200m IM (SM7), heats: Christian Sadie finished 3rd in his heat in 2:36.75 to qualify for tonight’s final as 6th fastest overall
Women’s 400m freestyle (S13), heats: Alani Ferreira finished 7th in her heat in an African record 5:02.42 but missed out on a place in the final
Table tennis:
Men’s Group D (Class 10): Mateo Boheas of France beat Theo Cogill 3-1 (15-13, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9) in a tight match that lasted 32 minutes
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Picture: Twitter / @rogersedres of TeamSA