Michelle Stilwell still golden at Paralympic Games

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sept. 10, 2016 /CNW/ - Wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell of Parksville, B.C., won the gold medal on Saturday in the women's T52 400-m while Stefan Daniel of Calgary added a silver in the first ever triathlon at the Paralympic Games.

Stilwell, a double champion from the past two Games in the 100 and 200-m, took her first title at the 400-m distance clocking a Games record one minute and 05.43 seconds. Marieke Vervoort of Belgium was second in 1:07.62 and Kerry Morgan of the U.S. third in 1:08.31.

"It was amazing to start so strong,'' said Stilwell, the 42-year-old MLA in the B.C, legislature who became a quadriplegic at age 17.  ''The race was fluid. I felt confident and relax through the whole race and to cross the line first and to bring the gold home for Canada, well, it was the moment I was working for."

Later tonight on the track, Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., goes for a second gold in the men's T53 200-m with Jean-Philippe Mararanda of Ste-Aurélie, Que., also entered. Mitchell Chase of Pickering, Ont., races in the men's T38 1500-m final.

In the PT4 triathlon competition, 2015 world champion Daniel was edged by arch rival Martin Schulz of Germany who won in one hour and 02.37 minutes. Daniel produced the fastest run time and finished in 1:03.05. Jairo Luiz Lopez of Spain was third in 1:03.14.

Canada is headed to the final in rowing after the LTA Mixed Coxed Four won its repechage heat. The Canadian rowers are Victoria Nolan (Toronto), Meghan Montgomery (Winnipeg), Andrew Todd (Thunder Bay, Ont.) Curtis Halladay (Sudbury, Ont.) and coxswain Kristen Kit (St. Catharines, Ont.). The final is Sunday morning at 10:50 a.m.

In the pool tonight, Benoit Huot of Longueuil, Que., vies for a 20^th career Paralympic Games medal in the men's S10 100-m backstroke final along with Alec Elliot of Kitchener, Ont. They were fifth and seventh in the heats.

Aurélie Rivard of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., goes for a second gold in the women's S10 100-m backstroke after placing fourth in the morning heats.

Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., is also in a swimming final tonight after ranking fourth in the SB9 100-m breaststroke heats.

In women's wheelchair basketball, Canada improved to 2-0 defeating Argentina 73-28. Arinn Young of Legal, Alta., scored 14 points.

In table tennis, Stephanie Chan of Richmond, B.C. lost her third match but still finishes second in her pool to advance to the semifinal in women's class 7 on Sunday.

RIO DE JANEIRO _ What Canada Did on Saturday morning and what's scheduled this afternoon and tonight at the 2016 Paralympic Games (distances in metres):

Archery

3 p.m.: Kevin Evans (Jaffray, B.C.) men's open ranking round

3 p.m.: Mixed team open compound open ranking round

3 p.m.: Karen van Next (South Bruce Peninsula, Ont.), women's open ranking round

Athletics

Women's T52 400-m final:  Michelle Stilwell, Parksville, B.C., wins the gold medal in a Paralympic record 1:05.43.

Women's T53 400-m  Ilana Dupont, Saskatoon, placed 10^th in heats and did not advance.

6:43 p.m.: Brent Lakatos (Dorval, Que.) and Jean-Philippe Maranda (Ste-Aurélie, Que.) men's T53 400m heats

7:20 p.m. : Mitchell Chase (Pickering, Ont.) men's T38 1500m FINAL

Boccia (preliminary round)

12:40 p.m.: mixed pairs BC4 – Canada (Iulian Ciobanu, Montreal; Marco Dispaltro, St-Jérôme, Que.; Alison Levine, Montreal) vs Brazil

12:40 p.m.: mixed pairs BC 3 – Canada (Éric Bussière, Verchères, Que.; Bruno Garneau, Montreal; Marylou Martineau, Quebec City) vs South Korea

5:20 p.m.: mixed pairs BC 3 – Canada (Éric Bussière, Verchères, Que.; Bruno Garneau, Montreal; Marylou Martineau, Quebec City) vs Brazil

6:50 p.m.: mixed pairs BC4 – Canada (Iulian Ciobanu, Montreal; Marco Dispaltro, St-Jérôme, Que.; Alison Levine, Montreal) vs China

Cycling

4:30 p.m.: Ross Wilson (Sherwood Park, Alta.), and Michael Sametz (Calgary) men's C 1-2-3 1000m time trial FINAL

Goalball

5:30 p.m.: men's preliminary – Canada vs Germany

Judo

Men's 90 kilos Tony Walby, Ottawa, lost round of 16 match to Jorge Lencina, Argentina and is eliminated.

Rowing

Repechage LTA Mixed Coxed Four: Canada won its heat to advance to A Final on Sunday at 10:5 0 a.m.: Canadian rowers - Victoria Nolan (Toronto), Meghan Montgomery (Winnipeg), Andrew Todd (Thunder Bay, Ont.) Curtis Halladay (Sudbury, Ont.) and coxswain Kristen Kit (St. Catharines, Ont.)

Shooting

12:15 p.m.: Doug Blessin (Tri-City, B.C.) mixed 10-m air rifle qualifying SH2 – final at 2:45 p.m.

Swimming

Women's SB7 100 breaststroke: Tess Routliffe, Caledon, Ont., placed fourth in heats to advance to final. Camille Bérubé, Gatineau, Que., and Sarah Mehain, Vernon, B.C., were ninth and 10^th and do not advance – final at 5:37 p.m.

Men's S6 50 freestyle: Nathan Clement, West Vancouver, was 18^th in heats and does not advance.

Men's S5 50-m butterfly:  Danial Murphy, Bedford, N.S., 15^th in heats and does not advance.

Women's S5 50-m butterfly:  Tammy Cunnington, Red Deer, Alta., 11^th in heats and does not advance.

Men's S13 200m individual medley:  Devin Gotell, Antigonish, N.S., and Tyler Mrak, Aldregrove, B.C., 15^th and 16^th in heats and do not advance.

Men's S10 100-m backstroke: Benoit Huot, Longueuil, Que., and Alec Elliot, Kitchener, Ont., placed fifth and seventh in heats to advance – final at 7:24. p.m.

Women's S10 100-m backstroke: Aurélie Rivard, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., placed fourth in heats to advance – final at 7:31 p.m.

Triathlon

PT4 Final:  Stefan Daniel, Calgary, won the silver medal.

Table tennis

Women's class 7 preliminaries:  Stephanie Chan, Richmond B.C., lost to Seong-Ok Kim, South Korea, 9-11, 11-4, 11-1, 10-12, 11-3. Finishes second in her pool to advance to semifinals.

Wheelchair basketball

9:30 a.m.: women's preliminary – Canada defeated Argentina 73-28 to improve to 2-0. Arinn Young, Legal, Alta., led Canada with 14 points.

3:15 p.m.: men's preliminary – Canada (0-2) vs Australia (2-0).

ABOUT TEAM CANADA IN RIO: Canada has a team of 162 athletes competing in 19 sports at the Paralympic Games, Sept. 7 to 18. For more information visit: http://paralympic.ca/team-canada-rio-2016

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee: www.paralympic.ca

SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)

For further information: Alison Korn, Senior Manager, Media Relations and Communications, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Rio cell: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Martin Richard, Executive Director, Communications and Marketing, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Rio cell: + 55 (21) 99031-7843, Email: [email protected]