Australian track and field star Maddy de Rozario has ended her long wait for a Paralympic gold medal with a dominating performance in the T53 800m.
The four-time Paralympian and three-time Games silver medallist took the lead just after 400m in Sunday night’s final at the Olympic Stadium and pulled clear for a convincing win.
She clocked one minute 45.99 seconds to break the Paralympic record and secure Australia’s eighth Tokyo gold medal.
The world record holder and reigning world champion, who was recognised with a Barbie doll last year, beat China’s Zhou Hongzhuan by 1.67 seconds, with Swiss Catherine Debrunner taking the bronze.
Six-time Paralympian Angie Ballard finished seventh and legendary wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, who coaches de Rozario, was also trackside.
‘They (Ballard and Sauvage) are two women who have been there every single point of my career, but also of my life,’ de Rozario told the Seven Network.
‘I wouldn’t have wanted to do it without them here.’
The 27-year-old won silver in the 800m at Rio and also in the 4x400m relay.
She first took silver in the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Australian track and field star Maddy de Rozario has ended her long wait for a Paralympic gold medal with a dominating performance in the T53 800m.
The four-time Paralympian and three-time Games silver medallist took the lead just after 400m in Sunday night’s final at the Olympic Stadium and pulled clear for a convincing win.
She clocked one minute 45.99 seconds to break the Paralympic record and secure Australia’s eighth Tokyo gold medal.
The world record holder and reigning world champion, who was recognised with a Barbie doll last year, beat China’s Zhou Hongzhuan by 1.67 seconds, with Swiss Catherine Debrunner taking the bronze.
Six-time Paralympian Angie Ballard finished seventh and legendary wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, who coaches de Rozario, was also trackside.
‘They (Ballard and Sauvage) are two women who have been there every single point of my career, but also of my life,’ de Rozario told the Seven Network.
‘I wouldn’t have wanted to do it without them here.’
The 27-year-old won silver in the 800m at Rio and also in the 4x400m relay.
She first took silver in the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Beijing Games.
De Rozario finished fifth two days ago in the T53 5000m.
She will next race the 1T54 500 on Monday and then the T54 marathon next Sunday on the last day of the Games.
Also on Sunday night, swimmer Jake Michel had a near-perfect Games debut when he was narrowly beaten in the final of the SB14 100m breaststroke.
Japan’s Naohide Yamaguchi broke his own world record to win in 1:03.77 and Michel was 0.51 of a second behind for the silver medal.
Sam Von Einem won his second-straight Games silver medal, losing 3-2 to world No.1 Hungarian Peter Palos in the Class 11 table tennis gold medal match.
The Australian saved two match points before going down 11-6 7-11 11-7 11-6 11-9.
But the Steelers’ campaign for a third straight Paralympics gold medal ended in disaster with a 60-52 torching from Japan in their bronze medal game – the first time they have missed out on the medals since 2004.
Earlier on Sunday, Lauren Parker lost her PTWC triathlon by just 0.01 of a second for the silver medal, with American Kendall Gretsch overtaking the Australian within metres of the finish
Erik Horrie won his third Paralympics silver medal in the single sculls, making history as the first rower to win three medals at the Games.
In the earlier session at the track and field, 45-year-old grandmother Sarah Edmiston took bronze in the F64 discus.
Fellow West Australian athlete Robyn Lambird also won bronze in the T34, clocking a season-best time.
The Rollers’ unbeaten start to the Games ended on Sunday when the United States thumped them 66-38 in wheelchair basketball.
