PARIS, 5 Sep. (by EUROPA PRESS special correspondent Ramón Chamorro) –
The Spanish Paralympic Team has already won 32 medals, one more than eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and will try to equal or surpass the 36 it won three years ago in Tokyo on the eighth day of competition at the Paris Games. To do so, it will rely on swimming, cycling, athletics, shooting and its debut in judo.
At La Défense Arena, all eyes will be on the 200m medley SM9, where Nuria Marquès, Anastasiya Dmytriv and Sarai Gascón are in contention for medals, while at the Stade de France, Álvaro del Amo, silver in the F11 shot put, and Héctor Cabrera, bronze in Tokyo in the F13 javelin, will be seeking a medal, with Adi Iglesias attempting to make the cut in the 400m T13.
In addition, road cycling, which on Wednesday gave four medals, two gold, one silver and one bronze, in the time trials, will try to add more medals with the start of the more complex road races that will debut with hand-held bicycles where Sergio Garrote, bronze three years ago, is emerging as a possible candidate in the H1-2 class.
Galician Juan Antonio Saavedra could also be a candidate for the podium, having already won a bronze in R3 – Mixed 10 m Rifle Prone SH1 and now aiming for a double in the 50 m, an event in which he won silver in London 2012 and bronze in Tokyo 2020.
Wheelchair tennis can secure a medal if Martín de la Puente pulls off a surprise and knocks out the world number one, the British Alfie Hewett, and the day will bring the debut of judo with Daniel Gavilán (-60 kilos J2) and María Manzanero (-57 kilos J1) and weightlifting with Loida Zabala, seeking a diploma in -50 kilos and after being diagnosed with serious cancer almost a year ago.