It was a day of Paralympic debuts across Team Ireland, finishing out with a lifetime best in the pool.

 

Para Swimming

Deaten Registe competed on the Paralympic Games final stage for the first time in his career last night, finishing sixth in the world and setting a new lifetime best of 1:07.82 in the SB14 100m Breaststroke Final.

The Lisburn City swimmer, whose first outing on the international scene came only last April, showed he can compete with the best after coming through a stacked heat this morning, which included Tokyo Paralympic gold and silver medallists.

In front of a packed crowd in the La Défense Arena, Registe took the occasion in his stride going quicker than his morning heat swim (1:08.49) and breaking his previous lifetime best of 1:07.90, set in January of this year.

Speaking after the event, the 20-year-old said: “It felt better than this morning, I wanted to go quicker, than this morning, I came back strong and it’s a personal best. It’s really good to get the experience of what the Games is like, it’s my first one, I made my debut tonight and went faster tonight, I’m happy out. I aim to try get lower (the time) as times goes on, so hopefully I can be in LA.”

“It’s been great having my family here and be able to watch me race, it’s great to have my coach and friends here too.”

 

Para Triathlon

In the Para Triathlon, Team Ireland athletes put on an impressive display with sisters Chloe and Judith MacCombe, along with their guides Catherine Sands and Eimear Nicholls coming in sixth and eighth place respectively.

Chloe MacCombe guided by Catherine Sands put in a determined performance to secure 6th place in the PTVI Para Triathlon at their debut Paralympic Games.

Exiting the water in 9th place, the pair put in a strong fight on the bike course to strengthen their position going into the final determining run, producing the 4th fastest bike leg.

“If you get to the Paralympics you have to just give it everything – and that’s what we did,” said Chloe.

An equipment penalty in Transition 2 cost the pair 10 seconds.

Chloe finished 4th in the run, for an overall time of 1:08:12, 2 minutes and 13 seconds away from a podium finish.

“You always have your eyes on the podium but ultimately we just wanted to go out and just give it everything. Control the controllable, just cross the line knowing you gave everything and that’s what we did.”

Judith MacCombe and guide Eimear Nicholls claimed 8th place in the same PTVI Para Triathlon finishing 45 seconds behind Chloe & guide Catherine, with an overall time of 01:08:44 at their debut Paralympic Games.

The pair only started working together over a year ago and have put in an outstanding performance throughout the season to secure qualification. Looking ahead, Eimear spoke of their ambitions, “We’re definitely looking forward to the rest of the season. We’ve got two more races coming up. And then beyond that, we’ll definitely be gunning for LA.”

Competing in the PTS4 Para Triathlon Cassie Cava placed twelfth with a time of 1:37:29. She started strong coming in sixth in her swim leg with an impressive time of 00:14:22 and remained steady in twelfth place in both her bike and run legs.

“I’ve got real mixed emotions, that was tough, I don’t think I’ve ever been in so much pain,” she said. I slipped on the stairs on the way to the start, I just got up and carried on with adrenaline. I got onto the bike and was in so much pain, every lap I thought ‘I can’t, I’ve got to stop’, I just pushed through, it was so painful, it was the toughest race ever pain wise.”

“I didn’t come here to quit, I just got around trying to get to the finish and I’m really glad that I did. It’s not what I came here to do, I came here to race better so I’m a little disappointed.”

 

Para Table Tennis

here was disappointment for Colin Judge who missed out on a place in the last eight of the Para table tennis, losing 3-0 to China’s Feng Panfeng on Monday afternoon.

The Tokyo Paralympian was drawn against the world number one after receiving a bye in the first round but immediately put the Paralympic champion under pressure in front of a large Irish crowd.

“After a number of long and close rallies, Feng took the first set 11-7. Judge started the second set brightly and took a two-point lead before the Feng showed all of his experience and skill to edge the second set 11-8.

The third and deciding set proved much more difficult for Judge and eventually he lost out 11-3.

“It was a really tough one,” he said. “I gave it my all. I thought I played really well in those first two sets but the third set just got away from me, he put me under enormous pressure. He’s not the world number one and the greatest ever in our sport for no reason.”

“He’s been an idol of mine since I first started in table tennis aged 11 and to play with him on the biggest stage today is an experience I’ll never forget. This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to him and I’m proud of that.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like that before. I want to thank everyone who came over, I’m so happy that I had so many supporting me who gave me a lot of energy in important moments. I’m sorry I couldn’t give them a better result, but I really gave it my all.”

 

Para Athletics

Shauna Bocquet was in action on the track in the Women’s T54 1500m heat, coming in sixth, but unfortunately, not enough to qualify for the final.

“The race was very tactical but I expected that, I tried to stay on the outside and not get boxed in. It was a very tight pack, and I just couldn’t get around them (the other racers). In the end, it came down to the last 100m and the better athletesgot over the line before me, I just couldn’t catch them. I’m looking forward to the next race now.”

A positive Shauna will rest today before returning to the track at the Stade de France for her third and final race of these Games, the
The women’s 100m—T54 heat will be held on September 4th at 11 a.m. (Irish time), with the final, qualification-dependent, taking place that same evening at 7.30pm.

With thanks to the great media team working for Paralympics Ireland across the venues in Paris. The team behind the team.

 

 

 

 

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