the mare kicked clear to finish 1-1/4 l from corse178's blog
RIO DE JANEIRO -- At the Riocentro Pavilion 3, the only sound in the table tennis arena was a steady tapping as the two competitors in the gold medal match struggled for points. James Washington Jersey .On one side of the table was Xue Juan. On the other, Li Qian. Both Chinese Paralympians in wheelchairs. Their match was one of two to decide a gold medal on Monday that featured athletes from China only.After Xue defeated Li, and Zhang Bian beat Gu Gai in the later match, each winner quietly acknowledged the victory, wheeled to the middle of the table and shook the hand of her countrywoman.There were no screaming fans, and little celebration. But in Rio, the scene has become routine, across the menu of sports. China is dominating the Paralympics.After competition ended on Tuesday, China held a huge lead at the top of the board with 147 total medals (63 golds) through six days of competition. The next closest country, the United Kingdom, had 75 medals in all.The Ukraine (72) was next with the United States (61) in fourth and host Brazil (43) in fifth.China has topped the medal board in the last three Summer Paralympics, beginning at the 2004 Athens Games.This year, China has more than 300 athletes, a physical representation of the countrys commitment to keeping its spot as a Paralympic powerhouse, but it can also be seen as a strategy: More athletes competing means more opportunities to collect medals.This was evident soon after China stepped foot on Brazilian soil. Last Friday, China won 14 medals in swimming, including two all-China podiums in mens 50- and 100-meter butterfly races. The victories have not stopped.Some athletes, however, have been raising questions about Chinas dominance in Rio.Philip Craven, the International Paralympic Committee president, was asked at a news conference on Monday about complaints that Brazilian competitors had been making about potential cheating by Chinese athletes.We had a very informal, short board meeting this morning of the IPC and that issue was brought up to us and it is something that we will look into in the future, not to do necessarily with doping, we always look into that anyway, but with regard to what particularly the Brazilian athletes are thinking and saying, Craven said.A spokesman for the IPC later said Craven was referring primarily to whether some Chinese athletes had been classified properly. Russia was banned from Rio for systematic doping, raising suspicion about cheating generally.The Paralympic Games, which date back to an English competition in 1948 and became the Paralympics in 1960, were once an event in which the United States routinely topped the medal count.The U.S. finished first in medals for nine consecutive Paralympics from 1964 to 1996. China, meanwhile, did not begin sending athletes to the Paralympics until the 1984 Games.The 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games were awarded in 2001 to Beijing over four other cities. Three years later, at the 2004 Athens Games, China not only cracked the top five in total medals for the first time but also placed first.Penny Briscoe, the British chef de mission in Rio, said the value in winning a bid to host the Summer Games cannot be underestimated in relation to the development of sport for the Paralympics.Briscoe recalled jumping and screaming alone in her house when London was announced as the host city for 2012. Even though the UK was the home of the Paralympic Movement, and had already seen success in the past, winning the bid to host the Summer Games led to an increased focus on the Paralympics.It was massive and such a morale boost, Briscoe said in a phone interview. It gave everyone maybe more sense of purpose than any other four years.Matt Cramer, director of high performance for United States Paralympics, said the U.S. often has different challenges than some of the other high profile names atop the Paralympic leaderboard.One thing is that we are creative but we are also very smart with our resources, because we get no federal funding, Cramer said in a phone interview.As a result, the American Paralympic program invests in initiatives, both long and short term, that are aimed at identifying and developing the athletes who show potential.We gauge success in the most simplistic way -- we look at an athlete that is in the system and has shown a positive trajectory that will hopefully lead to medal, Cramer said. But we dont just hope and cross our fingers, we really invest in them.China, too, has invested in long term plans for success in the Paralympics. In 2007, the huge China Disability Sports Training Centre was opened in Beijing.Britain also invests a lot in its Paralympic program, though Briscoe said it can be difficult to compare other countries to China because of the sheer size of its disabled population. In 2012, the Beijing Review reported that Chinas disabled population was about 85 million. According to the United Nations, the entire population of Germany entering 2016 was about 80 million.Regardless of the number of athletes competing for each nation, it is still up to the individual athlete to win.In the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Tuesday, China was at it again.Yang Bozun and Zhang Xiaotong claimed gold medals and world records in the 100-meter mens and womens breaststroke finals for blind competitors. Neither was the top finisher in qualifiers.By the end of the night, China had won eight medals and broken five world records.After her race, Zhang was asked about the secret to Chinas success at the Paralympic Games.It is because we train very hard in China and it is a whole teamwork for the entire China team, Zhang said through a translator.Whatever it is seems to be paying off.---This story has been corrected to show that the table tennis was played in Riocentro Pavilion 3, not Riocentro Pavilion 2. Wholesale Steelers Jerseys . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Steelers Womens Jerseys . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. 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Matthew Dale has squared the Highway ledger with Terry Robinson at five-all after Thelittleracketeer scored at Rosehill.The trainers lead the way in the series after Thelittleracketeer won Saturdays Highway Handicap (1100m), which marked the 50th edition of the race.Sent out the $4.60 equal favourite, Thelittleracketeer settled in the midfield with cover before a run emerged at the 200m mark.Under jockey Tommy Berry, the mare kicked clear to finish 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Hesco Gold ($51), which put the same margin on minor placegetter Oakfield Time ($4.60).The horse was beautifully placed today by Matty, Berry said.He really knows how to set one for these Highway races.The lightly raced five-year-old mare, who was formerly trained by Peter Moody, took her wiinning record to four from nine starts. Joshua Frazier Jersey. .She was fresh and put them away really quickly when we got the run, Berry said.I think the best horse won today and a bit of patience paid off.Murwillumbah trainer Matthew Dunn has dominated the race in recent months by winning four Highways, with Hanwritten kicking off his run on September 17.Dale had not tasted victory in the series since January, when Hermosa Beach joined Shadow Affair, Bitburg and Royal Jackpot as winners out of his Canberra stable.Robinson has scored two wins apiece with Kings Officer and Rose Of Man, and Grand Rouge gave him a fifth victory on September 3. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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