Cody Fournie is still unbeaten in Paralympic competition. The proof is the two gold medals he will bring home to Canada after his dominating, record-setting win in the men’s T51 100 metres.
“It feels great to get two gold medals at the Paralympics. I’m going to bring back everything I learned from this event and apply it to my training back home,” Fournie said.
The starter’s gun sounded. Fournie dug deep to get an exceptional start. A few metres in, his lead already looked insurmountable.
Fournie expanded his lead in the first half of the race and sped towards history – setting a new Paralympic record time of 19.63 seconds.
His first ever Paralympic race was only a few days ago, when Fournie won the men’s T51 200 metres.
“There’s definitely still room for improvement, but I will leave that with my coach and I to discuss when we watch the video,” he said.
Fournie’s trip to the top of the podium makes it four days in a row that a Canadian has won gold in para athletics, following his first gold medal win on Tuesday, then Greg Stewart’s gold in the F46 shot put victory on Wednesday and Brent Lakatos winning gold in the T53 800 metres yesterday.
Zesseu Scores an Emotional Silver Medal
Goosebumps. Shivers. Tears. Jesse Zesseu had us all in our feelings this morning.
His silver medal performance in Paris is the best kind of redemption story.
After his last throw landed, which also happened to be his best throw of the day, Zesseu was overcome with emotion. Seeing his family and his coaches, soon there were several Canadians crying in the Stade de France stands (and even more, if you count the fans watching at home).
“I was here last year at World Championships – exactly the same city – in Paris. I triple faulted and it was my worst beat of my life and I cried. I cried again now in Paris, but for a different reason and for good reason,” Zesseu said. “I have no words. It is just incredible. It is incredible to have this feeling and to be here. The crowd was insane,” he said.
A little more than a year later, Zesseu stepped onto the second wrung of the Paralympic podium – a monumental step in his ongoing story in sport.
“This is just the beginning, right? It’s my first Paralympic games. I didn’t know what para sport was three years ago. I’m 25, I know I have a long way to go, especially in throwing. There ares guys that are 20 years older than me still going. I’m excited for the future and right now I’m going to live in the present and enjoy this,” he said.
Goosebumps. Shivers. Tears. Again.
Bouchard Barely Misses the Podium
Anthony Bouchard finished 4th in the men’s T52 100 metre final on Friday, clocking in with a time of 17.55 seconds.
“I did what I had to do. I didn’t let the people on each side of me get me out of my race and it placed me in 4th, so I’m pretty happy with it,” he said.
This race concluded Bouchard’s first Paralympic competition. He placed sixth in the men’s T52 400m final earlier this week. Like many athletes competing in Paris this year, Bouchard benefited from the opportunity to race in front of family and friends.
“That was pretty cool. At first, I didn’t want them to come because it was a lot of money and everything, but I’m glad they did anyway,” he said. “That was pretty amazing.”
Papaconstantinou Hustles in Her Final
Marissa Papaconstantinou finished 7th in the women’s T64 100 metres final, clocking in with a time of 13.25 seconds in a race where all three podium positions went to athletes from the Netherlands.
“I was not surprised at all about the Dutch sweep. They’ve been going really fast this year and are pushing the boundaries every single day,” she said. “It’s honestly something I can be upset about because it just makes the sport better and makes us, as athletes, better. Just to be out here and to put my best foot forward is something to be proud of.”
While Papaconstantinou’s Paralympics may be over, you won’t have to wait long to watch her compete again. She and the rest of the T64 sprinters will compete at the Diamond League Final next weekend in Brussels, Belgium.
Foessel Feels the Love
It wasn’t Renee Foessel’s day in the Paralympic discus ring. After a good first throw of 34.40 metres, Foessel faulted her next four. She scored a mark of 29.75 metres in her last attempt – good for 6th place in the women’s F38 discus final.
“From the moment that I went into the stadium, I was just enveloped by the atmosphere. I have never experienced that before. I can still hear the rings from the audience and every Canadian in the crowd, on top of that,” Foessel said. “Despite not throwing, and having the competition that I wanted, I am very happy to have composed myself through it all.”
“I always think that this is the four years, we get here, then we’ll see what happens. But now I’m hungry for more and I want to keep pushing forward,” she said.
Smeenk Will Race Tomorrow
Austin Smeenk secured a spot in tomorrow’s T34 800 metres final with a second place finish in his heat and a time of 1:44.92.
“It was a good race – a good start. I did enough today to see tomorrow. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to throw down tomorrow and try and get on top of the podium,” Smeenk said.
His strategy to finish in the top 3 of his heat to qualify for the final hinged on getting out in front early and he worked that strategy to perfection.
“The get-out-in-front plan was one of about four or five plans, all of which ended up finishing in the top three positions. Getting through in the top three was the job that was set out to be completed, and it was done with short amount of effort,” he said.
Austin Smeenk goes into the final as the reigning T34 world record holder (1:35.59), set this past June, also in Paris.
Medal Count
Canadian para athletes have won seven medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: 4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze:
GOLD – Cody Fournie, T51 100 metres
GOLD – Cody Fournie, T51 200 metres
GOLD – Brent Lakatos, T53 800 metres
GOLD – Greg Stewart, F46 Shot Put
SILVER – Brent Lakatos, T53 400 metres
SILVER – Jesse Zesseu, F37 Discus
BRONZE – Austin Smeenk, T34 100 metres
Tomorrow at Paris 2024
One more day. That’s all there is left in our para athletics adventure at Stade de France.
But what a day it will be.
Nate Riech lines up in the race where he’s defending Paralympic champion and two-time world champion (T38 1500 metres).
Austin Smeenk competes in the race in which he’s the world record holder (T34 800 metres).
Sheriauna Haase races in the morning qualifier for the women’s T47 200 metres, with the chance to race for the medals in the evening session.
Noah Vucsics will be the last Canadian to compete in Paris, making his Paralympic debut in the men’s T20 long jump final.
Athletics Canada’s Paris Headquarters
Watching your athletics team take on the world is serious business.
You’ve need one place that gives you day-by-day Canadian athlete schedules, results in real time, the full Canadian roster and bios, historical stats to help you sound more like an expert, as well as direct access to all your broadcast and streaming options.
Go to our Paris 2024 Homepage, bookmark it, comeback every day and you will be ahead of the Games.
Get social with team Canada and see exclusive photos and videos of Canada’s Paralympic team on Athletics Canada’s Instagram, Facebook, X, and Tik Tok accounts.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Caroline Sharp
National Teams Communications Specialist
Athletics Canada
WhatsApp: (613) 323-5605 / Cell: (214) 601-8024
E: Caroline.Sharp@athletics.ca