The UAE’s Mohammed Othman finished fifth in the final of 100m wheelchair race, category (T34) at the Paris Paralympic Games on Monday.
Mohammed achieved a time of 15.40 seconds in the race which was won by Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana with a new Paralympic record of 14.76 seconds.
Tunisia’s Walid Katila (15.14 seconds) took the silver medal Canada’s Austin Smeenk in won the bronze with a time of 15.19 seconds.
Meanwhile, Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a Paralympics on Monday, while the delayed triathlon events went ahead after concerns over the Seine’s water quality faded.
Petrillo, 50, finished second in her heat of the T12 400 metres for the visually impaired, qualifying for the semifinals later Monday.
Petrillo suffers from Stargardt disease, a genetic retinal condition which leads to progressive loss of vision but unlike her opponents in the race at the Stade de France, she competed without a guide runner.
Jetze Plat won the first of the 11 triathlon events, which finally got underway after being postponed by 24 hours due to concerns about the water quality of the River Seine.
The 33-year-old Dutchman claimed his third Paralympic title in a row after victory at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
“I’m mostly just relieved. It’s my third title in the triathlon and I’m very proud of that,” he said.
The triathlon events at the Paris Games were initially scheduled to take place over two days but due to concerns about bacteria levels in the Seine, where the swimming stage of the triathlon takes place, organisers announced that all 11 races would take place on Sunday.
Then heavy rain, which can stir up pollution, fell on the French capital on Saturday, forcing organisers to delay the event.
China moved on to 38 gold medals by midway through the sixth day of action. China has finished top of the medals table at every Paralympics since Athens 2004.
A well-funded British team was chasing hard in second position on 25 golds, with the USA on 11.
