Ugo Didier on Thursday went one better on his performance at the Tokyo Olympics to win France's first gold medal of the 2024 Paralympics when he claimed the 400m freestyle S9 at the Paris La Défense Arena.
The 22-year-old Frenchman secured his first Paralympic gold in four minutes, 12.55 seconds. Simone Barlaam from Italy took the silver and the Australian Brenden Hall won the bronze.
"I'm happy that the hard work has paid off," said Didier who was born with clubbed feet.
"It's my time to win," he added. "I followed the race plan and it worked really well."
His victory on the first day of competition was greeted with a raucous din from the 15,000 partisans packed into the arena.
"The noise from the supporters was fantastic," he added. "I really appreciated it. And it is something I will never forget. Normally at events we don't have such crowds making noise like that. It was incredible."
Participation
During the Paris Paralympics, Didier will also compete in the 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley for swimmers who have slight problems coordinating their arms and legs or who have a missing limb.
A few hours before his triumph, Marie Patouillet won France's first medal of the Games when she claimed siiver in the C4-5 500m time trial at the Vélodrome National in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines
Caroline Groot from the Netherlands won the course for athletes with an artificial limb or limited movement in their arms or legs in 35.566 seconds. Kate O’Brien of Canada claimed bronze.
Elsewhere during the first day of action, Zakia Khudadadi from Afghanistan won the refugee team's first medal at a Paralympics when her opponent, Naoual Laarif of Morocco, withdrew ahead of their contest for the taekwondo bronze medal in the K44 under 47kg event.
At the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, Khudadadi became the first Afghan woman to compete in an international sporting event since the Taliban retook control of the country following the withdrawal of troops from Nato and the United States.
Challenge
Khudaddi, 25, who has lived in France since fleeing the Taliban administration, says she is representing Afghan women who have been stripped of their rights under the government.
"My life has been a journey filled with ups and downs," she said just before the competition started at the Grand Palais.
"I faced death threats and even contemplated suicide. What set me apart was my disability. When I looked in the mirror, I knew I was missing a hand. But I pictured in my head having an iron hand instead that made me impossible to stop.
"In that way, my disability has given me extra strength. It is a great honour because I am representing millions of refugees who have disabilities in these Games."
