PARIS (AP) — American equestrian Rebecca Hart won the dressage gold medal aboard Floratina at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday.
Britain’s Natasha Baker, a six-time gold medalist, was the favorite but finished third. The Netherlands’ Rixt van der Horst won the silver in Grade III, which is for athletes with severe impairments in both legs but minimal or no trunk impairment.
“It’s been 25 years of trying to get to this point and being close many, many times,” said the 39-year-old Hart. “To actually get it, I feel like I’m going to wake up at any moment. It’s just surreal. It feels like a dream.”
Hart’s best previous result at the Paralympics was a team bronze medal in Tokyo.
“It’s my first individual medal ever at the Paralympics, and it’s the gold,” she said. “It’s surreal.”
Two records in the 1,500
Alexandr Kostin won the T12 1,500 meters for athletes with minor visual impairment, in a Paralympic record time of 3 minutes, 44.43 seconds, four seconds faster than the previous mark.
“I haven’t realized that I have won gold yet,” said Kostin, who, as a Russian, is competing as a neutral. “It feels like I’m sleeping through a magical dream.”
Yeltsin Jacques of Brazil also set a record in the T11 1,500 for athletes with severe visual impairments who use guides.
Jacques won in 3:55.82, breaking the world and Paralympic records he set in winning the Tokyo gold.
“After everything I’ve been through — injury, illness — to come here and get a medal, it’s very special,” Jacques said.
Cuban wins long jump again
Cuban long jumper Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes secured his second consecutive Paralympic gold at 7.41 meters, winning by nine centimeters.
China’s Hao Wang was second and Russia’s Nikita Kotukov third at 7.05 under a neutral banner.
“It means a lot to me to win back-to-back Paralympic titles,” Cervantes said. “I only wish I could have improved my distance because I had trained for that.”
Cervantes dedicated his victory to his late grandmother.
“I have a debt to her because she left me a task that I couldn’t achieve today, to jump eight meters,” Cervantes said. “I was training a lot for that. It wasn’t today, but let’s move on.”
