Kobe (Japan), May 23: Five world records were broken at the Para Athletics World Championships here on Thursday, the seventh day of the event which also saw Chinese athletes claim six medals and set two Asian records. The men's 400m T12 final saw Turkish runner Serkan Yildirim, 32, smash the world record by clocking 47.47 seconds, as New Zealand's Danielle Aitchison, 22, set the women's 200m T36 record in 27.47s at the Universiade Memorial Stadium in the central Japanese port city of Kobe.
Algeria's 31 year old Skander Djamil Athmani broke the men's 400m T13 world record in 46.44s, while his compatriot, 41 year old Safia Djelal, shattered her own world record of women's shot put F57 with a throw of 11.62 meters, reports Xinhua. In the women's shot put F64 final, France's Alexandra Nouchet, 26, though ranking fourth, smashed the world record of her own category F63 with a throw of 10.64m. The Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships, held in East Asia for the first time, serve as a crucial qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Chinese athletes swept six gold medals breaking two Asian records on the tracks at the Universiade Memorial Stadium, China's para runners celebrated triple one-two victories. The men's 100m finals saw Deng Peicheng of the T36 class clinch gold by clocking 11.95 seconds, with his teammate Yang Yifei finishing the second. In the T11 category of men's 100m finals, Di Dongdong won with 11.28 seconds while Ye Tao got the silver.
In the women's 400m T53 final, Chinese wheelchair racer Zhou Hongzhuan won the gold with a championship record time of 54.57s, followed by her teammate Gao Fang who finished by 55.78s. Chinese athletes also bagged the golds from women's 400m T54, women's shot put F64 and women's shot put F35. "Paris 2024 would be my seventh Paralympic Games and I might continue competing if conditions allow," said women's shot put F64 champion Yao Juan.
Chinese female athletes refreshed two Asian records during the day, as Wu Qing won the silver in the shot put F33 final with a throw of 7.54m, while Shi Yiting finished second in the 200m T36 final by clocking 28.06s. By Thursday, which is the seventh competition day of the nine-day tournament, China continued to top the medal tally with 24 golds, 22 silvers, and 18 bronzes.
A total of 73 Chinese para-athletes are competing in the championships, which runs until May 25. The event has attracted over 1,000 athletes from 100 countries and regions competing in 168 events. Originally scheduled for 2021, the event was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
