Paralympics 2024

Paralympics Day 3: Irish in action and best of the rest as Shauna Bocquet and Greta Streimikyte in finals

First-time Paralympian Shauna Bocquet will compete in the T54 5,000m final on Saturday

Team Ireland's Shauna Bocquet during round one of the T54 5,000m event at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Friday. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images
Team Ireland's Shauna Bocquet during round one of the T54 5,000m event at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Friday. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images
Muireann Duffy's picture
Muireann Duffy
Sat Aug 31 2024 - 06:00

Irish in Action

9am: Richael Timothy (Para Cycling Track – C1-3 500m time trial, qualifying)

9.40am: Shauna Bocquet (Para Athletics – T54 5,000m final)

9.50am: Katie O’Brien & Tiarnán O’Donnell (Para Rowing – PR2 mixed double sculls, repechage)

10.02am: Ronan Grimes (Para Cycling Track – C4 4,000m individual pursuit, qualifying)

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*12.35pm: Richael Timothy (Para Cycling Track – C1-3 500m time trial final)

*1.52pm/2.01pm: Ronan Grimes (Para Cycling Track – C4 4,000m individual pursuit, bronze/gold medal races)

6.13pm: Greta Streimikyte (Para Athletics – T13 1,500m final)

*Depending on qualification

Team Ireland

Another day, another chance of medals in Paris as two of our athletes are in finals at Stade de France, while two more could see themselves competing for medals in the early afternoon at the velodrome if the morning’s qualifying goes well.

Fresh from taking a national record in the C4-5 1,000m event on Friday, Ronan Grimes will shift his focus to the C4 4,000m individual pursuit on Saturday. He’s up fourth in the qualifiers, alongside Carol-Eduard Novak of Romania. The two fastest riders from the qualifying round will race for gold in the afternoon, and third and fourth fastest will go head-to-head for the bronze.

Also in action will be Richael Timothy, competing in the qualifiers of the C1-3 500m time trial. Timothy got Team Ireland’s Games at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome under way on Thursday, posting a personal best of 4:05.247 in the qualifying round of the C1-3 3000m individual pursuit. As with Thursday’s event, in which the Galway woman placed seventh, the six fastest riders based on their factored times will progress to the afternoon’s final.

In the para rowing, Katie O’Brien and Tiarnán O’Donnell placed fourth in their heat on Friday, sending them to the repechage round. They’ll be in lane one, with boats from France, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Turkey making up the rest of the field. The first two finishers will qualify for Sunday’s A final, joining China, Israel, GB and Poland, while the rest go the B final.

And finally, Greta Streimikyte and Shauna Bocquet will both be on the track at Stade de France. Streimikyte will become a three-time Paralympian when she lines out for the T13 1,500m final. At the Tokyo Games, the 28-year-old shaved over 10 seconds off her time from Rio, finishing just outside the medals in fourth.

And after finishing fourth in her heat on Friday, Bocquet will compete for a medal at her maiden Paralympic Games, racing in the T54 5,000m final.

Team GB's Aaron Phipps in action against Australia's Chris Bond during their Group B wheelchair rugby match at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
Team GB's Aaron Phipps in action against Australia's Chris Bond during their Group B wheelchair rugby match at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Worth a watch

While England will never let us forget that they invented rugby, it’s actually a group of Canadians who are credited with thinking up wheelchair rugby. That being said, Team GB are the reigning Paralympic champions and they’ve got their title defence off to an impressive start with wins over Australia and Denmark.

On Saturday, they face hosts France, whom they should see themselves past, but there’s never any love lost between the French and the Brits so it’s bound to be a good watch either way.