South African Natalie du Toit grabbed her third gold of the Paralympics yesterday on a day tarnished by more doping scandals and a ruling that an athlete is not disabled enough to compete.
As China pulled clear at the top of the medals table, du Toit smashed her own world record in the women’s 200m individual medley, leaving her competitors trailing as she bids for a five-gold clean sweep.
But away from the action, two powerlifters were slapped with two-year bans after traces of steroids were found in their bodies, organizers said.
PHOTO: AP
Facourou Sissoko, 46, a male competitor from Mali, and Ukranian female powerlifter Liudmyla Osmanova, 22, both failed pre-competition tests, the International Paralympic Committee said.
The positive results bring the number of powerlifters expelled to three. Pakistani Naveed Ahmed Butt, 37, tested positive for a steroid on Sept. 4, it was announced on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, German wheelchair basketball player Ahmet Coskun was kicked out of the Paralympics for taking a banned drug that can conceal performance-enhancing substances.
A total of 461 tests had been carried out, both in and out of competition, by the end of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Irishman Derek Malone was banned from the Games because authorities deemed him not disabled enough, Irish sports chiefs said yesterday.
The Paralympic Council of Ireland (PCI) was notified this week that Malone, 28, who suffers from cerebral palsy, was ineligible to take part in the seven-a-side soccer tournament.
Cerebral palsy is an impairment resulting from injury to the developing brain that leads to altered neuromuscular function, but the condition can improve with athletic training, as was the case with Malone.
“I’m bitterly disappointed and frustrated by the whole process,” Malone, who won a bronze medal in his class in the 800m track in Athens in 2004, told reporters.
PCI secretary general Liam Harbison said Malone had been punished for training hard and pursuing excellence.
The ruling comes after Australian athlete Jessica Gallagher was last week told she was not blind enough to compete.
The controversies have taken some of the gloss of what has otherwise been a celebration of disabled sports, led by the performances of du Toit, fellow South African “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius and the dominant Chinese.
Du Toit did her best to force the focus back on the pool yesterday evening, swimming 2 mins 27.83secs, and finishing almost 10 seconds clear of Canada’s Stephanie Dixon.
The 24-year-old has already taken gold in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle events in her class.
“I just went out there and had a good race. I just enjoyed it. I felt good in the warm-up so to get out there and have a good race was a bonus,” she said.
Du Toit, who finished 16th in the 10km marathon swim in the Olympics last month, is aiming for two more wins to match her gold tally at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.
She is one of only two Paralympians who also competed at the Beijing Olympics, along with Polish teenager Natalia Partyka, who won table tennis gold in her class on Wednesday.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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