First Paralympic Medals for Boccia and Wheelchair Fencing -- Photodesk

(ATR) The final week of competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympics is underway as most sports are entering the medal rounds.

On Monday, athletes in mixed pairs boccia competed in Carioca Arena 2 at the Olympic Park in front of a small but very loud and supportive crowd. Host country Brazil was backed by its always enthusiastic hometown fans in a closely contested match against Slovakia in the BC4 classification.

It was the Slovakians who would come away victorious despite the home field advantage in the final round of throws, edging Brazil 4-2 for the gold medal. The medal marked the first given in the sport that began competition on Sep. 10. Brazil would go on to win gold in the mixed pairs of BC3 a few hours later to the delight of the fans.

Monday also marked the first day of competition and medals for athletes in wheelchair fencing. Ukrainian teammates Andrii Demchuk and Anton Datsko swept the golds in individual men’s sabre, adding to the country’s gold medal tally. As of Monday morning, Ukraine had 22 golds and was third in the medal table just three medals behind Great Britain.

The women’s Algerian goalball team also played its first match on Monday after forfeiting its first two matches against the United States and Israel at the Future Arena. The team lost to Japan 7-1 and will not advance to the quarterfinal round. The team claims travel issues led to their delayed arrival but the International Paralympic Committee is still investigating their story.

Click here for photos from the action at Olympic Park on Sep. 12.

Written by Kevin Nutley in Rio de Janeiro.

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