Greta Streimikyte set a new European record in the T13 1,500m final at the Stade de France on Saturday evening – but it wasn’t enough for a podium spot as she finished an agonising fourth.
It was the third successive Paralympic Games in which Streimikyte was within touching distance of a medal having finished fourth in Rio in 2016 and fifth in Tokyo three years ago.
But the 29-year-old’s time of 4:32.28 shaved almost a second off the European record which she herself set during the Para Athletics World Championship (4:33.27) to qualify for these Games.
Streimikyte has a personal best of 4:29.33 but that was set in the AAI Games at Morton Stadium in June 2021 and as that is not a designated major international competition it does qualify for record consideration.
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The UCD athlete was second after the opening lap of Saturday’s race in front of a huge crowd at the Stade de France in Paris. However, the chasing pack reeled her in and she briefly dropped to sixth.
She was fifth at the bell and rallied with a strong final lap during which she overtook Somaya Bousaid, but the top three had pulled well ahead of the field coming down the home straight.
The race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Gezahagn Mengistu, the defending champion, in a time of 4:22.39. Second was claimed by Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi in 4:22.98. USA’s Liza Corso was third in 4:23.45.
Streimikyte’s 4:32.28 was also her fastest run of the season, the best she had produced this year prior to Saturday night was 4:35.84. A Paralympic medal remained out of reach, however.
“The fourth, it is always a bit painful for me because it feels like I am just stuck in that fourth or fifth. But hopefully not too long more,” she said after the race.
“I am happy (with my SB), this season wasn’t the best I would have wanted. That this is my season’s best just tells the numbers. I am happy that I was able to pull something out of the bag.”
Fourth is fast becoming a habit for Irish athletes at these Games, with swimmers Róisín Ní Riain and Ellen Keane both finishing just outside the medals in races on day one and two respectively.
On the race itself, Streimikyte added: “I was a bit too far away to challenge for the medals, but I tried.
“I definitely felt my legs. They were a bit shaky, that means that I really tried. I don’t know what would have been the regrets, but definitely I pushed as hard as I could.”
In the morning session on the track, Shauna Bocquet finished eighth in the final of what was the fastest T54 5,000m race in history.
The 20-year-old Galway athlete, competing in her first Paralympic Games, looked right at home among the world’s best racers and finished in eighth with a time of 11:50.85.
Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner won gold in 10:43:62, knocking nine seconds off the Paralympic record. American Susannah Scaroni (10:45.18) was second while Australia’s Madison de Rozario took bronze (11:10.20).
“That was a lot faster than yesterday’s heat, I suspected it would go out hard and it really kicked off there at the start but I’m really happy with how the race went,” said Bocquet after the event.
“I managed to hang on to the back of another girl and we were together for most of it. It was good, we got to work together, we took a couple of laps each.
“The stadium is incredible. The atmosphere was amazing. There was a lot of noise every time we came around and that really helps you. It gives you that edge you mightn’t think you would have. To be here at the Paralympic Games is amazing and to be in a final is just incredible.”
Bocquet still has the 1,500m and 100m races to come.
Elsewhere on Saturday, there were two new Irish records set at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome.
Ronan Grimes posted a second Irish record in as many days, this time in the C4 4000m individual pursuit qualifier with a time of 4:28.859. Despite a fantastic performance, his fifth place finish was not enough to secure qualification for the final.
Richael Timothy finished 10th in the qualifying round of the C1-3 500m time trial and punched a national record and a personal best with a time of 41.937.
“I’m delighted, I couldn’t have done any more than that,” said Timothy. “500 is obviously kind of a sprint specialist event but I said I would do it anyway – get the experience, get the warm-up, all that sort of stuff.”
In para rowing, Katie O’Brien and Tiarnán O’Donnell came fourth in the PR2 mixed double sculls repechage with a time of 8.40.85. They progress to the B final which takes place on Sunday morning at 9.10am. France (8.29.61) and Ukraine (8.30.81) qualified for the A final.
“The result isn’t what we wanted but we will go to bed tonight knowing we gave it our all. Don’t rule us out of the competition yet, we have more to give and we’re thinking beyond these games towards LA too,” said O’Donnell after the repechage.
