Lauren Parker’s bid to become Australia’s first dual-sport Paralympic medallist in more than 40 years is alive after she buried the pain of Tokyo to win the gold medal in the PTWC triathlon.
The 35-year-old, who missed out on gold in Japan by just one second, sealed redemption in Paris by exacted revenge on American rival Kendall Gretsch.
Parker crossed the line one minute 23 seconds ahead of Gretsch, who had beaten her in Japan, kickstarting a haul of seven medals won by Australia on Monday.
The other gold came in the pool in the 34-point 4x100m medley relay with Alexa Leary powering Australia to first place ahead of the Netherlands.
When Leary entered the pool for the fourth and final 100m leg, the Dutch held a six-second lead but the Australian was able to run them down in a dramatic finish to secure gold.
There were also maiden silver medals in the men’s and women’s singles boccia as Dan Michel and Jamieson Leeson (both BC3) fell to defeats in gold medal matches.
Parker’s victory was the standout performance of the day, capping a turbulent 12-month period in which the Australian has had to change her race style in all three formats after a training accident altered her posture.
“After getting second in Tokyo by less than a second, that’s been a big driving force over the last three years,” Parker said.
“Every single day, every single training session, I’ve worked so hard to accomplish what I have today.
“Sport brings emotional roller-coasters from week to week – I’ve been through a lot emotionally, personally, physically.
“I’ve been through a bike accident and lots of other things that I’ve had to overcome, and to be able to do this today is so special.”
The victory puts Parker on course to become Australia’s first dual-sport Paralympic gold medallist at a Games since Eric Russell completed the feat in 1976.
Parker’s attention will now turn to cycling, with the Australian set to compete in the individual time trial and the road race.
“I’ve got a one-day break, and then cycling events,” Parker said. “The cycling is my strongest leg…I’m really looking forward to getting three golds.”
Parker’s gold was quickly followed by a bronze in the wheelchair rugby as the Steelers downed Great Britain 50-48.
Steelers captain Ryley Batt now has a medal of each colour, with two gold and silver already to his name prior to the start of the Paris Games.
“We wanted a gold, but a bronze medal sounds pretty good to me,” Batt said.
After Batt had made history, Leeson and Michel went looking to become Australia’s first boccia gold medallists but fell short.
Leeson, who lost 4-0 to Hong Kong’s Ho Yuen Kei, became Australia’s first ever female boccia medallist while Michel was defeated 5-2 at the hands of Korea’s Howon Jeong.
