First Russian athlete wins gold at Paris Paralympics

PARIS, August 30. /TASS/. Russian swimmer Andrey KalinaVladimir Danilenko has won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
The Russian came first in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB8 final, covering the distance in 1:09.02. China’s Yang Guanglong came second (1:09.83) and Colombia’s Carlos Serrano was third (1:10.55). Another Russian para thlete Daniil Smirnov finished fourth (1:11.59).
Swimmers in the SB8 class have coordination affected to a low level, the use of one leg only, the use of one arm only, or the partial absence of one limb.
Kalina, 37, is the first Russian to win a Paralympic gold at the 2024 Games. Before 2013, Kalina competed as a Ukrainian para athlete. He won three gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, is an eight-fold world champion and holds a world record in 100m breaststroke.
Russian para athletes have won eight Paralympic medals (one gold, three silver, four bronze medals).
The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games are taking place in the French capital of Paris between August 28 and September 8. Eighty-eight Russian Paralympians are participating in the Games as neutrals. They were barred from taking part in the opening and closing ceremonies and are also excluded from the overall medal standings.