John Stubbs (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 14) -- The medal winning performances of British archers have given the British team just the confidence boost they require for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Great Britain has won two golds, one silver and one bronze at the Beijing Paralympic Games, with Danielle Brown striking gold in the Women's Individual Compound - Open and John Stubbs in the Men's Individual Compound - Open.

Danielle Brown (Photo credit: Xinhua)

John Cavanagh won the silver in the Men's Individual Compound - W1 category and Mel Clarke won bronze in the Women's Individual Compound - Open category.

Tim Hazell, the coach and manager of the British team feels that a good haul at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games is just what British archery needs in the run up to London 2012.

"This competition will be a positive sign for us in the London Paralympic Games," said Hazell.

"We have a number of younger archers coming up to the national team. This can help to push them to a new level."

Hazell adds that his next goal is to analyze areas where the team can improve.

"When we get back after the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games we will analyze what we have done right and wrong, in order to better prepare for London's Games."

In the Beijing Games, Britain has won 3 more medals in Archery than the Republic of Korea, a team which is touted as the best in the world.

"It is obvious that the Republic of Korea is the best considering the level of Archery in the world," said Hazell.

"But the rest of the world is catching up. This (Beijing Games) will help raise Archery to a higher level."

(BEIJING, September 14) -- The Team competition promises to provide spectators with exciting action with all the top teams vying for top honors at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Monday, September 15.

Men's Team Recurve - Open

The Men's Team Recurve - Open will start with a 1/8 Elimination round, in which Thailand will take on Great Britain and Slovakia will play Ukraine.

In the 1/4 Elimination round which follows, Japan will lock horns with Spain and China will battle it out against Poland.

The Republic of Korea will play either Slovakia or Ukraine (depending on the 1/8 Elimination round result) and Italy will take on either Thailand or Great Britain (depending on the 1/8 Elimination round result).

Women's Team Recurve - Open

Since the Women's competition has eight teams competing, no 1/8 Elimination round will be held. Competition will start with the 1/4 Elimination round.

The Britain and the ROK clash will be the highlight, with archers from both countries in top form.

The China, Germany match will also be an interesting contest, with China starting as favorites, given their recent form and the home support.

Among the other clashes Poland will play Ukraine and Japan will take on the Czech Republic.

(BEIJING, September 14) -- Canada, the Netherlands and Mexico won their respective classification games on Sunday, September 14.

Canada beats China 53 to 46

Canada's dominant defensive play proved too much for China, as Canada won 53-46 in a classification game for fifth to eighth place on Sunday, September 14.

Leading China by four points at halftime, Canada pulled ahead with atight defense that produced 10 steals and forced 20 Chinese turnovers. Center Janet McLachlan was the game's highest scorer with 20 points. She was the only Canadian player to score more than eight points.

Two Chinese guards -- Li Yanhua and Chen Qiurong -- scored in the double digits. As a team, China grabbed more rebounds than Canada, 40-33.

"It was a tough game. China is very good," said Canadian forward Chantal Benoit. "We expect that team [Chinese team] to be very strong and be the world champions in the 2010. They are going to be a very good competitor."

Canada will play the winner of Sunday's Netherlands vs. Great Britain classification game in a play-off for fifth-sixth place. China will play the loser of that classification game in a play-off for seventh-eighth place. Both games will be held Monday at the National Indoor Stadium.

The Netherlands beats Great Britain 46 to 39

Pulling ahead after a tied game with one quarter left to play, the Netherlands defeated Great Britain 46-39 in the first of two classification games for fifth-eighth place on Sunday.

Although both teams were evenly matched in rebounds, assists and turnovers, the Netherlands gained the advantage through higher percentage of field goals and two-point shots made (40 percent). Dutch center Elsbeth van Oostrom was the game's high scorer with 17 points, followed by teammate and guard Cher Korver who had 12 points.

"We played against Great Britain before [in the preliminaries]," Dutch forward Barbara van Bergen commented. "Today is really important because it's for the fifth-eighth places classification, and we want to go further. Today made it possible."

Two British forwards -- Helen Turner and Helen Freeman -- scored in the double digits.

The Netherlands will meet Canada in a play-off for fifth-sixth place, and Great Britain will meet China in a play-off for seventh-eighth place, on Monday, September 15, at the National Indoor Stadium.

Mexico beats Brazil 54 to 44

Forward Lucia Vazquez Delgadillo's 29 points powered Mexico to a 54-44 win over Brazil in the classification play-off game for ninth-10th place on Sunday.

Vazquez Delgadillo, the only Mexican player to score over seven points, led her team in both offense and defense. She earned Mexico's highest number of rebounds, assists and steals.

Three Brazilian players scored in the double digits, but Brazil's less controlled offense resulted in 17 turnovers. Before fouling out, guard Jucilene Moraes contributed a team-high 13 points and a game-high nine assists.

"All of us worked very hard today and we played much better than ever before," said Vazquez Delgadillo. "This victory encouraged us. We will renovate and try to find our new strength. The Paralympic Games is held every four years, and you can never tell what will happen in four years."

(BEIJING, September 11) -- The world record holder John Stubbs of Great Britain (GBR) will lock horns with Canadian Kevin Evans (CAN) in what is one of the most anticipated quarterfinal matches at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Friday.

Men's Individual Compound - W1 quarterfinal

The tumult between the defending Paralympic champion John Cavanagh (GBR) and the Republic of Korea's (ROK) An Seong-pyo is expected to be the highlight of this category.

An squeezed out Czech Republic's (CZE) Zdenek Sebek, 104-100, in the 1-8 elimination round.

Second seed Jeff Fabry of Team USA will parry with Italy's Luca Fabio Azzolini (ITA) in the other quarterfinal. Azzolini stopped France's Olivier Hatem, 107-101, in the 1-8 elimination round.

These other quarterfinal matches will showcase David Drahoninsky (CZE) and Robert Lehner of Switzerland (SUI) and Canada's Norbert Murphy will contend with Osmo Kinnunen of Finland (FIN).

Men's Individual Recurve - W1/W2 quarterfinal

China's Cheng Changjie (CHN) will face Stephane Gilbert from France (FRA) in the first quarterfinal. The Chinese archer beat Malaysian Zulkifli Zin Mat, 108-103, in the 1-8 elimination round and Gilbert beat Italian (ITA) Oscar de Pellegrin, 101-99.

The Republic of Korea's Lee Hong-gu goes up against Tseng Lung-hui of Taipei (TPE) in the other quarterfinal clash. Lee shaved James Paul Browne (GBR), 108-103 in the 1-8 elimination round and Tseng schooled Japan's Yoshida Nobuji, 106-98.

Still other quarterfinal matches will spotlight Turkey's Ozgur Ozen who will take on Jung Young-joo (KOR) and Italian Marco Vitale will play Piotr Sawicki of Poland (POL).

Men's Individual Recurve - Standing quarterfinal

The collision between the defending Paralympic champion Imrich Lyocsa of Slovakia (SVK) and China's Chen Yegang is expected to be the highlight of this category.

Lycosa trumped Hasegawa Takahiro (JPN), 100-94, in the 1-8 elimination round, while Chen hedged Ukraine's (UKR) Yuriy Kopiy, 100-94.

China's Dong Zhi will compete against Mongolia's Baatarjav Dambadondog (MGL) in the other quarterfinal. Dong beat Tomasz Lezanski (POL), 108-102 in the 1-8 elimination round and Dambadondog clobbered Mick Beard (GBR), 104-91.

Those other quarterfinal's will focus on Mario Esposito from Germany (GER) who will duel Spain's Miguel Juan Zarzuela and Thai Sakon Inkaew who stand up against France' Fabrice Meunier.

Men's Individual Compound - Open quarterfinal

In one of the more anticipated matches, the world record holder John Stubbs (GBR) will take on pre-competition favorite Canadian Kevin Evans.

Stubbs broke the Paralympic Games record in the 1-8 elimination match against Eric Bennett of Team USA, which he won 117-114. Evans startled Pavlo Nazar (UKR), 110-109.

In some other quarterfinals Alberto Simonelli (ITA) will face Jiri Klich (CZE). Joe Bailey (USA) will take on T J Pemberton (USA) and Ireland's Martin Sean Heary (IRL) will play Philippe Horner (SUI).

Women's Individual Recurve - Standing quarterfinal

Lindsey Carmichael (USA) will take on Kim Ki-hee (KOR) in what promises to be a close match. Carmichael recovered from a weak start against Magali Comte (SUI) in the 1-8 elimination round to qualify for the quarterfinals.

China's hopes will be pinned on Gao Fangxia who will play Greece' (GRE) Anna Tzika in the quarterfinals.

In another set of matches Malgorzata Olejnik (POL) will measure Brigitte Duboc (FRA) and Eliane Otten-Salden of the Netherlands (NED) will hook up with Lee Hwa-sook (KOR).

Women's Individual Recurve - W1/W2 quarterfinal

Top seed Xiao Yanhong (CHN) is slated to encounter Japan's Saitoh Ayako in the quarterfinal. Xiao dissolved Maria Droste (GER), 91-66, in the 1-8 elimination round.

Turkey's Gizem Girismen will tangle with Ukraine's Roksolana Dzoba. Girismen impressed in the earlier round, harnessing Lenka Kuncova (CZE), 103:85.

In other matches Japanese athlete Aya Nakanishi will step in with France' Chantell du Maufras and Cao Xuerong of China will draw compatriot FuHongzhi.

(BEIJING, September 14) -- China will once again be making its presence felt in Powerlifting on Monday, September 15 in the Men's -82.5 kilogram and -90 kilogram categories at the BUAA Gymnasium, with three-time Paralympic champion Zhang Haidong defending his title and Cai Huichao hoping to add to his impressive medal collection.

Men's -82.5kg

China's Zhang Haidong will be competing for his fourth Paralympic gold medal after winning gold in the -75kg category at the Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, and gold in the -67.5kg category at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games.

Zhang also has three gold medals from the World Championships, in 2006, 2002 and 1998.

Martin Bihary is the only Powerlifter from the Czech Republic at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and will be seeking to add to gold medals from the 2007 World Championships on home turf in Ceske Budejovice, the 2006 Regional Championships in the same city and the National Games in 2007, 2005, 2003 and 2002.

Janne Pipponen of Finland ranked fifth in the 2005 Regional Championships in this category.

Thaer Al Ali of Iraq will be a strong competitor with an entry weight of 207kg, as is Ammar Shekh Ahmad of Syria, who starts at 205kg.

Shekh Ahmad won a silver medal at the 2008 Regional Games in Egypt and ranked fourth at the 2006 World Championships in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Another lifter to watch in this category is Russia's Vadim Rakitin.

Men's -90kg

China's Cai Huichao will be aiming to add to his already impressive collection of medals after winning gold at the 2007 European Championships in Kavala, Greece.

Cai also won silver at the 2006 FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur and will undoubtedly have the advantage of the home-crowd support at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Poland's Ryszard Rogala will be looking to improve on his previous Paralympic performance after winning the silver medal in this category in Athens 2004.

He also won the gold medal at the 2007 European Championships in Kavala and in 2005 and 2001 in Quarteira and Budapest respectively, and won bronze medals at the 2006 and 2002 World Championships.

Also competing in this category are Ikechukwu Solomon Amarakuo of Nigeria and Mohammed Khamiss Khalaf of the United Arab Emirates.

(BEIJING, September 13) -- Defending Paralympic champion John Cavanagh of Great Britain is slated to lock horns with World record holder Jeff Fabry of the United States in the semifinal. The clash is expected to be the highlight of the morning session at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Sunday.

Men's Individual Recurve - Standing

Top seeded Mario Esposito of Germany is slated to take on Fabrice Meunier of France in the first semifinal.

Esposito beat Miguel Juan Zarzuela of Spain and Meuiner beat Sakon Inkaew of Thailand in the quarterfinals. Where as China's Chen Yegang will play Baatarjav Dambadondog of Mongolia in the other semifinal in this category.

Chen outshot defending Paralympic champion Imrich Lyocsa of Slovakia in the quarterfinal and Dambadondog beat Dong Zhi of China in the other quarterfinal.

The gold medal, as well as the bronze medal matches will take place on Sunday.

Men's Individual Compound - W1

The clash between defending Paralympic champion John Cavanagh of Great Britain and world record holder Jeff fabry of the United States is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the morning session.

Both archers have been in sublime form enroute to the semifinal, crushing all opposition.

Cavanagh beat Republic of Korea's An Seong-pyo in the quarterfinal and Fabry beat Luca Fabio Azzolini of Italy in the quarterfinal.

In the other semifinal, Osmo Kinnunen of Finland will lock horns with David Drahoninsky of the Czech Republic.

Kinnunen beat Norbert Murphy of Canada and Drahoninsky beat Robert Lehner of Swizerland in the quarterfinal.

The gold medal, as well as the bronze medal matches will take place on Sunday.

Men's Individual Recurve - W1/W2

China's Cheng Changjie will play Ozgur Ozen of Turkey in the first semifinal.

Cheng beat Stephane Gilbert of France in the quarterfinal and Ozen outplayed Jung Young-joo of the Republic of Korea in the other quarterfinal.

Italy's Marco Vitale will take on Tseng Lung-hui of Chinese Taipei in the semifinal.

Vitale beat Piotr Sawicki of Poland in the quarterfinal, where as Tseng beat Republic of Korea's Lee Hong-gu in the other quarterfinal clash on Friday.

The gold medal, as well as the bronze medal matches will take place on Sunday.

(BEIJING, September 14) -- Baatarjav Dambadondog made history by becoming the first person from Mongolia to win a medal at the Paralympic Games on Sunday, September 14.

Sixth seed Dambadondog edged out France's Fabrice Meunier 94-90 in the final of the Men's Individual Recurve - Standing category to claim the gold medal.

The Mongolian impressed with a string of good performances en route to the final, beating top quality Chinese archers in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

"I am very happy, Beijing made me realize my dream in the Paralympic Games," said Dambadondog.

His coach Tsogt Badamkhatan attributes the win to a lot of hard work and dedication.

"No he isn't (an underdog). Many Asian athletes and coaches know him. He has been shooting for many years and his success is due to his hard work and a little luck," said Badamkhatan.

(BEIJING, September 13) -- The United States and Germany advanced to the gold medal game by winning their Women's Wheelchair Basketball semifinal matches on Saturday, September 13 at the National Indoor Stadium.

Australia and Japan, the losers of Saturday's semifinals, will play in the bronze medal match. Both medal matches will take place on Monday, September 15 at the National Indoor Stadium.

United States defeats Australia 60-47

The United States scored nine points from free throws in the last two minutes of play. Three US guards - Christina Ripp, Jen Ruddell and Stephanie Wheeler - combined for 47 points. Australia committed several fouls in the last few minutes of the game, setting the United States up for its successful series of free throws. Australia was aggressive but committed 27 turnovers, from which the United States scored 17 points.

Germany defeats Japan 60-40

Centers Marina Mohnen and Maren Butterbrodt powered Germany's resilient offensive play that resulted in 32 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points. Mohnen had a game-high total of 22 points. Forward Amimoto Mari was Japan's highest scorer with 17 points, but Japan could not match Germany's shooting accuracy. Japan only made 28 percent of its field goals compared to Germany's 50 percent.

(BEIJING, September 14) -- Heinz Frei of Swizerland has become the 2008 Paralympic Road Race competition's second double gold medalist.

In a mad scramble for the line between five riders after 48.4km of racing in the Men's Road Race (HCB), the 50 year-old multi-Paralympic athlete Frei had the strength to edge out his four opponents to take the title by just 0.01 second.

Max Weber of Germany, who took gold at the 2007 Paracycling World Championships in Bordeaux, France, was given the silver even though Edward Maalouf of Lebanon in bronze position was given the same time.

Fourth and fifth were Manfred Putz of Australia and Vittorio Podesta of Italy 0.06 and 0.16 seconds behind Frei who also took Friday's HCB class Time Trial.

Maalouf becomes a double bronze winner having come third in the HCB Time Trial.

The finish of the Men's Road Race (HCC) was no less exciting than the HCB class rush to the line. Three riders entered the final straight with nothing between them and crossed the line with just 0.01 second separating first from third.

Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa was judged to have inched the gold ahead of Alejandro Albor and Oz Sanchez of United States who were awarded silver and bronze despite being given the same time.

Van Dyk's win gives South Africa its first gold at the competition and goes with the title he took at the 2007 Paracycling World Championships. It also makes up for the South African's disappointment at missing out on a medal in the class Time Trial in which he placed fourth.

Albor now has a 2008 Paralympic silver to go with the bronze he took in the Time Trial while Sanchez has a bronze to go with his Time Trial gold.

The outcome of this morning's racing leaves the top of the Road Race gold medal table unchanged with Britain on five and Spain, Germany and the USA all on three.

(BEIJING, September 14) -- The unbeaten United States will challenge Germany in the gold medal match, and Japan will challenge Australia in the bronze medal match, during the finals of Women's Wheelchair Basketball on Monday, September 15, at the National Indoor Stadium.

Also on Monday, four other teams that did not advance to the medal round will compete in play-offs for fifth-eighth places.

United States vs. Germany (Gold medal game)

Team USA is undefeated this far in the tournament, with a group A preliminary record including a 42-38 win against Germany.

For the final against Germany, guard Patty Cisneros said the United States will need to improve its shooting and "fine-tune" other aspects of the game, such as press and offense.

Germany, who has not won a medal in the Women's Wheelchair Basketball since Seoul 1988, finished second to the US team in the group A preliminaries. Germany won its quarterfinal game against the Netherlands on Friday, and won a semifinal game against Japan on Saturday.

Center Annette Kahl said Germany is confident to avenge the preliminaries loss to Team USA. "We didn't believe in ourselves," Kahl said. "They have a very aggressive defense and we sometimes find it very difficult. We can break it."

Japan vs. Australia (Bronze medal game)

After posting a 4-0 record in group B preliminary matches and defeating Great Britain in Friday's quarterfinals, Japan lost to Germany in Saturday's semifinal.

Coach Iwasa Yoshiaki noted after Japan's loss to Germany in the semifinals that his team's relative lack of height could be a problem when competing against Australia. "The Australian players are also (like Germany's players) very tall, and the game will be a big challenge for us," Iwasa said.

Australia finished its group A preliminary games with a 2-2 record, won Friday's quarterfinal game against Canada, and lost Saturday's semifinal match against the United States.

Guard Kelly Gauci cited Australia's 27 turnovers and several missed throws as her team's key errors in their semifinal loss against the United States.

Canada vs. the Netherlands (Classification game, play-off for fifth-sixth place)

Canada, the reigning World Champion, finished 3-1 in group B preliminaries, but lost a quarterfinal match to Australia on Saturday. The team went on to win against China in Sunday's classification game.

Center Misty Thomas said Canada will continue to play for the best possible result. "We're very disappointed we didn't get into the medal round, but if fifth place is the best we can do, then fifth place is what we want," Thomas said.

The Netherlands went 2-2 in the group B preliminary round, but lost to Germany in Friday's quarterfinals. The team then defeated Great Britain in Sunday's classification game.

To prepare for the play-off, forward Barbara Van Bergen said the Netherlands will review footage of its preliminary game loss against Canada. "We will look at the videos, discuss tactics and go for it."

China vs. Great Britain (Classification game, play-off for 7th-8th place)

After posting a 1-4 record in the group B preliminaries, China lost its quarterfinal game against Team USA on Saturday, and lost the classification game against Canada on Sunday.

Guard Chen Qiurong noted that China's shortcomings in her team's Sunday classification game loss to Canada stemmed from a mediocre defense and a low shooting percentage. "Also, we also need to improve our wheelchair techniques," Chen said.

Great Britain had a 1-3 record group A, and went on to lose to Japan in Saturday's quarterfinals and to the Netherlands in Sunday's classification game.

Following Great Britain's classification game loss to the Netherlands on Sunday, guard Clare Strange said the British team needs to improve for the play-off for seventh-eighth place against China on Monday. "We've got to pick ourselves up and do better," Serange said. "I think it's about getting a good start."

Andy Lau (right) and Han Hong (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 6) -- Two famous musicians, Andy Lau and Han Hong, will be performing the theme song of the 2008 Paralympic Games, "Flying with the Dream," on Saturday night in Beijing's Bird's Nest.

Zhang Jigang, executive director of the Beijing Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, has described the theme song and other music for the ceremony as passionate.

Apart from the theme song, Zhang also spoke highly of the other two songs to be performed at the Opening Ceremony, "Let Me Have You," which expresses gratitude, and "Fly," which conveys a desire for a better life.

The music director of the Paralympics Opening Ceremony is renowned composer Fang Ling. The music at the Opening Ceremony not only creates a romantic and dreamy atmosphere, but also expresses passion for life, he said.

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A full dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympics was held at the Bird's Nest National Stadium on Thursday evening.

About 6,000 actors and actresses, some of whom are disabled, rehearsed the three-hour performance in the National Stadium amid tight security that was aimed to keep the details confidential.

No cameras, video phones or wireless devices were allowed to be brought into the evening show by spectators.

Zhang Jigang, director of the Paralympics opening ceremony, said earlier that the show would encompass three parts -- the travel of space, time and life.

The 13th Paralympics is scheduled to open at 8:00 p.m. Saturday in stadium. Around 4,000 athletes will compete in 20 events until Sept. 17.

This photo, taken on September 6, 2008, shows fireworks counting down the seconds to the start of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China.

(Photo credit: Xinhua)

Children performing at the Paralympic Opening Ceremony (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 6) -- Few who watch Saturday night's Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Paralympics will forget the spectacular children's performance entitled Festival. To the tune of joyful music, over 2000 children enter the stage in delicate costumes – as frogs, ducks and a myriad of other lively characters. Watching them perform a series of deft and difficult movements, it is hard to believe that the troupe is comprised of children between the ages of eight and twelve.

Four requirements had to be met for the children to perform in this show. First, they must be 8-12 years old. Second, they must be 125-150cm tall. Third, they must be proficient in Chinese Kung fu. And last but not least, they must all be affiliated with one organization, to make rehearsals and management easier. After a sophisticated screening process, the children from Shaolin Tagou Martial Art School were awarded the opportunity, thanks in part to their spectacular 8-minute performance at the opening ceremony of the Athens Games four years ago.

Greatly impressed by this pilot performance with 156 children, Zhang Jigang, the Executive Director for the Opening Ceremony, decided to expand the cast from 1000 to 2200 kids. To show appreciation for the children's incredible efforts over the past months, Zhang presented them with a number of gifts, including souvenir stamps and bills signed by the three directors of the Olympic and Paralympics.

The most difficult aspect of the program was harmonizing the dances with complex martial arts moves. In Festival, the children imitate seagulls, cows, frogs, ducks and robots in body movement, facial expression and sound. The fact that average headstand time is 30-40 seconds is a good indication of the difficulty of their task.

For the success of the Opening Ceremony, the children engaged in months of training. Complex moves and lack of consistent rehearsal sites did not deter them. According to Zhang, no matter the difficulty, the children were always happy and managed to make everyone around them happy as well.

To avoid injury and fatigue, the school gave great consideration to good nutrition and rest for the children. High protein foods and proper recovery exercises were utilized. Far from being exhausted by training, the children grew stronger and more adept with each practice.

Overview of the National Stadium (Photo credit: Xinhua)

1. Pre-ceremony Performance

Synopsis: Pre-ceremony performance

The site of pre-ceremony performance is the Small Stage to the north of the field. After Pre-ceremony performance, the hosts give interactive guidance to the audience for 40 minutes.

Pre-ceremony Performance:

1) Military Music Performance: Welcome Music

2) Folk Music Performance: Good News from Beijing Reaches the Border Villages

3) Drum Music Performance: Ebullient Festival

4) Male Solo: Come on!

5) Male-female Duet: Happy Gathering in Beijing

6) Lead and Chorus: Every one is No.1

7) Male-female Duet: Miracle in the East

8) Grand Chorus: The Blue Danube

9) Male-female Duet and Chorus: The Drinking Song

10) Grand Chorus: Ode to Joy

11) Chorus: Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing

Artistic performance (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Artists perform (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Drummers perform (Photo credit: Liao Yujie/Xinhua)

Artists perform 'Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing'. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

2. Entrance of the President of China and the President of IPC

Synopsis: Entrance of Hu Jintao, the President of China, and Sir Philip Craven, the President of the IPC.

3. Short video of Countdown

Synopsis: In the sky, a small feather is dancing and drifting. It transcends space and time, going around the world, and participates in the main Paralympic sports one after another…

The countdown numbers of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 are displayed in the form of fireworks immediately after a short video.

* At present, there are 20 sports for the Summer Paralympic Games, namely, Athletics, Swimming, Shooting, Archery, Powerlifting, Table Tennis, Cycling, Wheelchair Fencing, Judo, Wheelchair Tennis, Volleyball Sitting, Sailing, Equestrian, Rowing, Goalball, Wheelchair Basketball, Boccia, Wheelchair Rugby, Football 5-A-Side (for blind people), and Football 7-A-Side (for people with cerebral palsy).

A boy holds the countdown board. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Fireworks countdown. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

4. Welcoming Fireworks

Synopsis: Welcoming fireworks.

At the end of the last second of the countdown, welcoming fireworks burst above the National Stadium.

Welcoming fireworks (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Welcoming fireworks (Photo credit: Xinhua)

5. Raising the national flag of China and Singing the National Anthem of China

Synopsis: The national flag of China is raised and the national anthem of China is performed.

The flag operators of the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army raise the national flag of China, while the Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army performs the National Anthem of China live.

After the national flag of China is raised, red and yellow fan-shaped fireworks burst above the National Stadium.

The Paralympic flag is hoisted up. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Flag raising ceremony (Photo credit: Xinhua)

The Paralympic flag is hoisted up. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

6. Welcoming Ceremony: My Track

Synopsis: Art performance My Track, the welcoming ceremony for the entrance of athletes.

Cartoon marathon athletes smile happily. They are busy paving a beautiful track of seven colors for athletes with a disability from all over the world.

Artistic performance (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Artistic performance (Photo credit: Xinhua)

7. Entrance of the Athletes

Synopsis: Entrance of the athletes of all delegations.

One-hundred-and-forty-eight guides lead the athletes of 148 countries in a predetermined order. When the guides reach their designated positions, they hand the feather placards to the persons in charge at the center of the field, who place them in the feather framework already prepared according to the order. In the end, a huge feather consisting of 148 feathers is formed.

Entrance of the Athletes

What is peculiar about the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games is that the athletes enter the stadium first and then watch the performances together with the audience. This is their festival.

The order of entrance

The order of entrance for all delegations is based on each NPC's name written in the Chinese characters of the Chinese mainland and the sequence of guide - flag - athletes - contact - guide accompanying the team. Athletes enter the field from Gate 1 and go along the west track of the National Stadium. After they pass Gate 2, the south track, Gate 3, the east track, Gate 4 and the north track, the guides lead them to their designated seating areas.

Gigantic Feather

The "Bird's Nest" is the home of life. Each feather is a living thing, symbolizing the ideal of all people with a disability in the world and carrying the hope and dream of people with a disability.

Maltese Paralympic delegation (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Entrace of members of the Paralympic delegation of Belgium (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Entrace of members of the Paralympic delegation of Greece (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Paralympic delegations (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Splendid fireworks at the Opening Ceremony (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(Beijing, September 6) -- Fireworks, an essential element of the Olympic Games opening ceremony, were also a highly anticipated part of the Paralympics opening ceremony. The fireworks display revolved around the theme, "vast universe."

Cai Guoqiang, chief designer of visual effects, who impressed the world with his 29 giant firework footprints, created a new concept for the Paralympic ceremony. "The fireworks display features a map of the stars," said Zhang Jigang, executive director. "You will see the universe and the planets, among other things."

Fireworks over the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube (Photo credit: Xinhua)

The Opening Ceremony showed the gathering of cosmic beings and the dialogue among Heaven, Earth and People, and comprised three chapters: space travel, time travel and life travel based on the Paralympics logo – heaven, earth and people. The performance reflected the search for the meaning of life by human beings, the fireworks display expressed China's unique views about the universe and life, and the dialogue between humans, between humans and nature, and between humans and the universe conveyed the idea that every life is valuable, dignified and filled with dreams.

Chief Director Zhang Yimou said that the fireworks displays in the Olympics and Paralympics Opening Ceremonies used cutting-edge technology unlike anything else in the world. It is through this advanced technology that the Opening Ceremony created a splendid starry sky.

MPC would like to provide the tour to The Great Wall on September 16th,2008.

Please register and confirm by sending fax at 84371065 or email to wen@btmbeijing.com, amilysun@btmbeijing.com by 6 p.m. on September 15, 2008.

Date: September 16th , 2008

Departure Time: 1:30 p.m. Return time: 6:00 p.m.

Departure Venue: Northwest of main gate of MPC, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District.

Registration Form

Remark:

* Above tour service provided for the accredited journalists for free.

* Ten or more registrations are needed to form a group; otherwise, the tour will be cancelled.

For further details, please contact:

Yang Wen 13601338207, Amily Sun 13381068163

News Desk of MPC

Tel: 66625259

Fax: 84371065

(BEIJING, September 13) -- The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Saturday that the men's team from I.R. Iran has withdrawn from the tournament due to dissatisfaction with the draw proposed for the cross-over round and subsequent schedule.

Consequently, the game USA vs. Iran will be decided by IWBF Rulebook Rule 4, Article 20, "Game lost by Forfeit." The United States is awarded the win by the score of 20-0 in accordance with the applicable rule and will progress to the semi-finals.

The IWBF and the IPC regret this decision taken by Iran and the disruption caused to the tournament. Despite this occurrence, the IWBF and the IPC are certain that the remaining teams will continue to participate to their best and an outstanding gold medal game will be hosted on September 16.

Tarbei runs to gold in the Men's 5000m -T46 final. (Photo credit: Jamie McDonald/Getty

(BEIJING, September 13) -- Four world records were set in seven finals as Lucas Prado (Brazil), Hilton Langenhoven (South Africa), Alexey Ashapatov (Russia) and Abraham Cheruiyot Tarbei (Kenya) all claimed their respective second gold medals in Athletics.

Men's 5000m - T46

It was an even field in the first two laps until Kenya's Tarbei took the lead, followed closely by Ethiopia's Tesfalem Gebru Kebede, with both runners pacing themselves but keeping ahead of the rest. Tarbei broke away on the penultimate lap, lapped four runners, and won gold, shattering US runner Ron Evan's Sydney world record (14:39.15) by clocking 14:20.88. This is Tarbei's second gold medal and world record of the competition, his first from the Men's 1500m – T46 on Wednesday, September 10.

The fight for second and third place intensified as Kebede slowed, allowing, first Tunisia's Mohamed Fouzai, and then Mexican Mario Santillon, to pass him. Fouzai finished in 14:38.96 for the silver medal, and Santillan came in at 14:43.96 for the bronze medal.

Women's 200m – T36

China's Wang Fang did not disappoint her fans as she dashed to the finish line of the Women's 200m – T36 to take gold in 29.57. Claudia Nicoleitzik (Germany) won the silver medal with 31.48, followed by Hazel Simpson (Great Britain), who finished in 32.43 for bronze.

Prado and his guide celebrate gold in the Men's 200m - T11 dash. (Photo credit: Jamie

Men's 200m – T11

Prado continued his gold medal-winning performance when he crossed the finish line in the Men's 200m – T11 in 22.48 seconds, breaking his own world record of 22.70. On Tuesday he won the Men's 100m - T11. Angola's Jose Armando had to take a back seat to Prado yet again, taking his second silver medal for a time of 22.70 seconds (his first in the Men's 100m – T11), while Arian Iznaga of Cuba took bronze with 22.79 seconds.

Women's 400m – T12

Assia El'Hannouni of France has got her gold. After she expressed disappointment in a silver medal for Tuesday's Women's 800m T12/13, El'Hannouni stepped up her performance, winning the Women's 400m - T12 in 55.06. Her old world record (53.67, set in Athens) remains unbeaten. Ukraine's Oxana Boturchuk claimed silver with a run of 55.88 seconds and Brazil's Terezinha Guilhermina won bronze with 57.02 seconds.

Ashapatov throws to gold in the Men's'Discus -F57/58. (Photo credit: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

Men's Discus – F57/58

Ashapatov won gold in the Men's Discus - F57/58 and broke a long-standing F58 world record (55.60 meters, set in 1998) with his third attempt of 57.61m (1,079 points). Ashapatov is also the winner of and world record holder in the Men's Shot Put F57/58 on Tuesday.

China's Zheng Weihai took silver with 49.09 m (1,052 points) and stole the F57 world record (47.53m) from bronze medalist Rostislav Pohlmann from the Czech Republic. Athens gold medalist Pohlmann won the bronze medal with 45.48m (975 points) based on the multi-classification event point system.

Langenhoven jumps to gold in the Men's Long Jump - F12. (Photo credit: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

Men's Long Jump – F12

Langenhoven took his second gold medal in Athletics in 24 hours, his first being from Friday evening's Men's Pentathlon – P12. His fourth attempt jump of 7.31m in the Men's Long Jump – F12 was not enough to break his world record (7.43m) set in 2007, but it was good enough for gold. Osamah Alshanqiti of Saudi Arabia and Athens gold medalist Oleg Panyutin of Azerbaijan both jumped the same distance, but Alshanqiti's 7.06m (+0.3) was awarded the silver medal, and Panyutin (7.06m / +0.6) had to settle for bronze. Alshanqiti is the gold medalist and world record (15.37) holder of the Men's Triple Jump - F12.

Men's Discus - F11/12

Ukraine won gold and bronze in the Men's Discus – F11/12 through Vasyl Lishchynskyi and Oleksandr Iasynovyi. Lishchynskyi had to wait until his last attempt throw of 40.59m (991 points) to claim gold, while a mark of 49.52m (974 points) gave Iasynovyi the bronze medal based on the multi-classification point system. Sebastian Baldassarri (Argentina) took silver with 40.43m (988 points).

Athens silver medalist Vladimir Andryuschenko of Russia had to settle for fourth place, despite his best throw of 49.49m, which only gave him 974 points.

This guide sets out the registration policies and procedures as NOC/NOC/NPC team doctors during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games ("the Games").

To complete the registration procedure, the authorized representative of the NOC/NPC will have to sign the Medical Declaration (attached in Document 1) and Employment Declaration (attached in Document 2). The signed declaration form will have to be returned along with the application forms for registration as a NOC/NPC team doctor.

The application forms for registration as a NOC/NPC team doctor have been issued by Beijing Municipal Health Bureau and Medical Council in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region respectively.

NOC/NPC team doctors, who need practice medicine in Chinese Mainland during the Games, will have to fill the application form attached in Document 3. The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau has reached agreement with the health authorities of the Olympic co-host cities in Chinese Mainland (Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao), all the registrations for the 2008 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games which have been recognized by Beijing Municipal Health Bureau do not need duplicate registration in the above cities during the Games time.

NOC/NPC team doctors, who need practice medicine in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region during the Games, will have to comply with the relevant regulations of the Medical Council in Hong Kong and fill the application form attached in Document 4.

All required completed application forms (both for the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong) should be duly completed and submitted to BOCOG on or before 31 March 2008 for the Olympic Games, and on or before 30 April 2008 for the Paralympic Games. BOCOG will not accept applications from individual applicants.

Please return the forms to:
Ms. Zhen Xiaozhen / Ms. Li Yanli
Medical Services Division, Games Services Department
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
No. 267, Beisihuanzhonglu
Beijing, 102008, PR China

In order to ensure the convenience of media accreditation application and processing procedures BOCOG is providing the following services.

Foreign journalists who have been accredited for the Beijing Olympic Games and wish to report at the Paralympic Games, which start September 6, can apply directly through BOCOG Media Operations. The accreditation form needs to be completed and sent to Mr. Shi Xiaojie at shixiaojie@beijing2008.cn. For more information please contact Mr. Shi Xiaojie, Media Services at his cell, 13911995133.

Foreign journalists who have not been accredited for the Beijing Olympic Games but wish to report on the Paralympic Games must contact the National Paralympic Committee within their home country/region for accreditation.

Non rights-holding broadcasters who wish to apply for accreditation can contact Ms. Steffi Klein, Media and Communication Senior Manager of IPC at steffi.klein@paralympic.org.

For general accreditation information please call or write to the following:

Phone: 86-10 66625272

Email: pressacr@beijing2008.cn

Download: Press Accreditation Application Form For Beijing Paralympic Games

On August 31, 2008, the BOCOG "one stop" media service office will move to the third floor of No. 55 Chaoyangmennei Street.

Media members are advised to go to the new office location for all previous inquiries and services.

Address: 3rd floor, No. 55 Chaoyangmennei Street

The contact numbers for our services will be amended as follows:

1. Temporary Olympic accounts: 64081086

2. Temporary imported motor vehicles plates: 64081186

3. Temporary driving permits: 64081186

4. Temporarily import, mount and use ground receiving installations for satellite television broadcasting of the Beijing Olympic Games and the pre-Games period: 64081382

5. Customs clearances for Beijing Olympic materials: 64081619

6. Personal accident insurance & health-aid travel medical insurance for journalists reporting on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: 64081262

7. Filming of historical and cultural relics and museum collections: 64081210

BOCOG One-Stop Service Office

August 30, 2008

The Main Press Center for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad is pleased to announce the media schedule for the remainder of the 2008 Paralympic Games, from September 11 to September 17. All press conferences will be held at the Press Conference Hall of the Main Press Center (MPC) in the Olympic Green.

On Thursday, September 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in Press Conference Room 1, there will be a news conference highlighting stars of the 2008 Paralympic Games. Jiang Xintian, the flame ambassador of the Paralympic torch lighting ceremony at the Temple of Heaven, together with Chinese Paralympic gold medalists, will brief you at this press conference and take your questions.

Contact & Telephone: Lv Limin 6662-5153 or 6662-5155

On Friday, September 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in Press Conference Room 1, the third BOCOG/IPC joint press conference will take place. Spokespersons from BOCOG and IPC will brief you at this press conference and take your questions.

On Saturday, September 13, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in Press Conference Room 1, there will be a news conference highlighting World Expo Shanghai 2010. Spokespersons from the organizing committee will be present at the press conference.

Contact & Telephone: Ge Yang 6662-5153 or 6662-5155

On Tuesday, September 16, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in Press Conference Room 1, there will be a news conference highlighting Beijing city operations during the Paralympic Games. Spokespersons from Beijing municipal government will attend the press conference and take your questions.

Contact & Telephone: Qin Ye 6662-5153 or 6662-5155

On Wednesday, September 17, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., in Press Conference Room 1, there will be a news conference held by the Chinese Paralympic delegation. Spokespersons from the delegation will be present at the press conference.

Contact & Telephone: Qiang Zhenmin 6662-5153 or 6662-5155

Also on Wednesday, September 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., the fourth and final BOCOG/IPC joint press conference will be held in Conference Room 1. Sir Philip Craven, chairman of IPC, will be on hand to brief you and take your questions.

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Five athletes will be crowned Paralympic champions at the Bird's Nest on Thursday evening, September 11, in what should be an action-packed session of heats and finals.

On the track, the big names of wheelchair racing will do battle in the finals of the Men's 5000m - T54 and the Men's 400m - T53 (both classifications covering different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations). In the Men's 5000m - T54, the Athens gold and silver medalists, Kurt Fearnley of Australia and Aaron Gordian of Mexico, are expected to be big threats. Fearnley set a Paralympic record (10:13.21 seconds) to qualify fastest for this final. In the 400m - T53, all three Athens medalists - Hamad Aladwani of Kuwait, Hong Suk-man of the Republic of Korea and Joshua George of the United States - will be in the hunt to add to their medal tallies. Hong will enter the race as the favorite, after setting a Paralympic record (49.13 seconds) in the heats.

In the field events, the final of the Men's Discus Throw - F32/51 (covering wheelchair athletes with cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries and amputations) should see some impressive results. Karim Betina of Algeria and Mourad Idoudi of Tunisia are going to be two athletes to watch, both recording some impressive throws this year.

The Women's Shot Put - F37/38 (covering ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) is sure to be equally exciting. Athens gold medalist Aldona Grigaliuniene of Lithuania and Athens bronze medalist Eva Berna of the Czech Republic have recorded some of the best scores this year and they will be likely to set the benchmark in Thursday evening's final.

Athletes in the Men's Pentathlon - P44 (classification for ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities) completed the first three disciplines on Thursday morning. Athens silver medalist Casey Tibbs of the United States got off to a good start, securing 995 points for his P44 Paralympic record (6.76 meters). Tibbs added a further 767 points from the Shot Put, but it was his compatriot Jeremy Campbell of the United States who putted the furthest (14.44). After two disciplines Campbell (1859 points) led the field, ahead of Tibbs, on 1762 points. In the 100m, Campbell continued to dominate the event, running 11.56 seconds (for a further 956 points). He will head into Thursday night's final two disciplines with 2815 points. Tibbs is ranked second, with 2713 points. Jeff Skiba of Team USA, and three-time Paralympic gold medalist in this event Urs Kolly of Swizerland, will need to dominate on Thursday evening to keep their gold medal hopes alive. The champion will be decided following the Discus and 400m.

(BEIJING, September 11) -- The morning session of the fourth day at the National Stadium had four medal events. World records were broken in two events and the host nation continued its domination on the field. On the track, Henry Kiprono Kirwa of Kenya stole the show, winning Kenya's second gold medal in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Henry Kiprono Kirwa celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

As early as the second lap of the Men's 5000m-T13 (athletes with different levels of visual impairment), Kirwa broke away from the rest and kept going, steadily increasing the distance between him and the next pack of runners, which included Odair Santos of Brazil and Tim Prendegast New Zealand. At the last 50-meter mark, Kirwa lapped the last runner Vedran Lozanov of Croatia and took the gold in 14:24.02 minutes, a new world record.

Odair Santos, who had the fastest qualifying time in the heats, ran a steady race until only a few meters from the finish line when he conceded the second spot to Morroco's Youssef Benibrahim (14:50.32). Santos settled for bronze with 14:53.35 minutes. Tim Prendegast fell to his knees less than 10 meters from the finish line but despite the exhaustion, stumbled to finish the race in fourth place. Only six runners finished with Max Bergmann of Germany taking the fifth place and Lozanov the sixth.

Qing Suping competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Women's Javelin-F57/58 (athletes in wheelchair with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations), China's Qing Suping won the gold with her final attempt at 22.71m, earning herself 1140 points. Nakhumicha Zakayo of Kenya took the silver with 22.64m (1137 points). Although Jeny Velazco of Mexico recorded the furthest throw at 30.57m, it only gave her 1037 points, according to the multi-classification point system, and she had to make do with bronze. Safia Djelal of Algeria who holds the F38 world record (31.12m), managed a throw of 29.89m (1014 points) but it was not enough for a medal.

Guo Wei competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

China then added to its medal tally by making it a one-two finish in the Men's Discus-F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) winning the gold and silver based on the multi-classification point system. In his fourth attempt of 54.13m (1131 points), Guo Wei landed himself the gold and bettered his old F35 world record (49.39m). Teammate Wang Wengbo chalked up 1116 points with his second-attempt throw of 38.98m, a new F36 world record. In third spot was Namibia's Reginald Benade with 37.57m and 1076 points.

Michelle Stilwell celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Women's 200m-T52 (athletes in wheelchair with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations), Michelle Stilwell of Canada won the gold medal with her time of 36.18 seconds, a new Paralympic record. She did not beat her own world record of 35.93 seconds. Coming in second was Yamaki Tomomi of Japan in 37.44, followed by Athens 2004 silver medalist Pia Schmid of Switzerland who clocked 39.95 and had to settle for bronze this time.

(BEIJING, September 10) -- After the gold rush on Wednesday, the morning of day four for Athletics will definitely be less busy with only four medal events being contested.

On the field, there will be the Women's Javelin F57/58 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations) and the Men's Discus F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy).

In the Women's event, the athletes to look out for are gold and silver medalists from Athens 2004, Sofia Djelal of Algeria and Echuria Njideka Iyazi of Nigeria. Iyaizi won gold in the Women's Shot Put F57/58 on Tuesday.

On the Men's Discus F35/36 start list are former medalists from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games and the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Duane Strydom of South Africa, Edgar Bergs of Latvia and Thierry Cibone of France will be ready to show off their strength and skill.

On the track, there are a number of silver medal winners from Athens and Sydney, who will definitely be hoping to better their records. Said Gomez of Panama, silver medalist in Athens, will compete in the Men's 5000m T13 (athletes with different levels of visual impairment). However, it was Henry Kiprono Kirwa of Kenya and Tim Prendergast of New Zealand who stood out during the heats on Tuesday.

In the Women's 200m T52 event, Pia Schmid of Switzerland and Tanaka Teruyo of Japan will be the women to watch out for. Kerri Morgan and Mallerie Badgett of the United States of America are also in this event with competitive season's best times.

(BEIJING, September 11) -- There were smiles all around at the Bird's Nest on Thursday evening, with five Paralympic gold medals decided.

A fierce battle was displayed by athletes across the five disciplines of the Men's Pentathlon, but the gold medal went to Jeremy Campbell of the United States. The win by Campbell ended the roll of Urs Kolly of Switzerland, who has won gold in this event at the previous three Games. Athens silver medalist Casey Tibbs of Team USA started the day with a P44 Long Jump Paralympic record (6.76 meters) for 995 points. But, his compatriot, Campbell, shot to the front of the competition (with a total of 1859 points) after his Shot Put effort (14.44m), and never looked back.

Jeremy Campbell celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Campbell dominated in the 100m, finishing fastest (11.56 seconds) to extend his lead on the competition (with 2815 points), before adding a further 948 points for his 52.30 m throw in the Discus. Jeff Skiba of the United States scored 858 points for his 47.31m toss and moved to second-place in the rankings. Tibbs failed to score in the Discus, so in the final discipline, the 400m, the three remaining competitors were guaranteed of medals. Campbell streaked home in the 400m in 56.39s for a P44 world record total score (4662 points). Kolly was second in the 400m, in 1:00.29, and picked up the bronze medal (with 4118 points), behind silver medalist Skiba (4274 points).

Prawat Wahoram celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Having qualified fastest with a Paralympic record (10:13.21) for the Men's 5000m - T54, Athens 2004 gold medalist Kurt Fearnley of Australia added a silver medal to his tally, finishing in 10:22.97, behind gold medalist Prawat Wahoram of Thailand. The lead changed countless times in the opening laps with no competitor gaining a real ascendancy on the race. But when the bell sounded for the final lap, Wahoram led David Weir of Great Britain, and Fearnley was in third. Wahoram held his nerve in the final lap, to finish first, in 10:22.38. Fearnley put his head down in the home straight, and pipped bronze medalist Weir (who finished in 10:23.03), in the final meters. The Athens silver medalist Aaron Gordian of Mexico finished in seventh-place.

Hong Suk-man competes in the final. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Men's 400m - T53, Hong Suk-man of the Republic of Korea was the man to beat, having set a Paralympic record (49.13s) in the heats. He left nothing to chance, and never looked in doubt, smashing the world record (47.67s) to take the gold ahead of China's Li Huzhao (48.43s) and Richard Coleman of Australia, in 48.92s.

Mi Na celebrates after her win. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Women's Shot Put - F37/38, Jia Qianqian of China gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about, when she set an F37 Paralympic record (10.11 meters) to take the lead with 986 points in the competition. But they cheered even louder, when moments later Mi Na of China set an F37 world record (11.07m), for 1080 points. Mi went further ahead and secured the gold medal, with 11.58m for 1129 points, on her second throw. Athens 2004 gold medalist Aldona Grigaliuniene of Lithuania set an F38 Paralympic record (11.86m), for 1039 points, on her opening throw. She bettered this mark on her second (12.54m) and third throw (12.58m), for 1102 points, to score a silver medal. Athens bronze medalist Eva Berna of the Czech Republic crept into third position with a second throw of 10.64m, for 1038 points. With her next effort she improved again with 10.67m for 1041 points. Her fifth throw (10.84m), for 1057 points, was good enough to pick up the bronze medal. After a strong start, Jia finished in seventh position.

In the Men's Discus Throw - F32/51, Karim Betina of Algeria shot to the lead with an F32 Paralympic record (19.04m), for 1093 points. Martin Zvolanek of Czech Republic stole the lead, with his F51 world record (10.78m) for 1098 points. But he didn't hold this rank for long, with Mourad Idoudi of Tunisia, scoring an F32 world record (19.72m), for 1132 points. Joze Flere of Slovania scored second-position and the silver medal, with an F51 world record (10.99m), for 1119 points. But it was Idoudi who walked away with the gold medal and Zvolanek took the bronze. Betina finished out of the medals, in fourth position.

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Six gold medals will be decided for the world's best Paralympic runners, jumpers and throwers at the National Stadium on Friday morning, September 11.

Men's Javelin Throw - F53/54

Markku Niinimaki of Finland and Felix Zepeda of Mexico will be looking to set the medal standard, after some great form leading into the competition.

Women's Shot Put - F35/36

This event is set to see some exciting competition from a number of strong putters. Athens bronze medalist Alla Malchyk of Ukraine has recorded solid distances this season, but Athens 2004 gold medalist Renata Chilewska of Poland is unlikely to go down without a fight.

Men's Triple Jump - F11

The reigning Paralympic Gold medalist, China's Li Duan, is sure to draw plenty of attention from the crowd. But he will face some tough competition from the Athens silver and bronze medalists Zeynidin Bilalov of Azerbaijan and Russian Sergey Sevostianov.

Men's 100m - T38 and Women's 100m - T37

In both the Men's 100m - T38 and Women's 100m - T37, the Athens 2004 medalists will be looking to add to their medal hauls.

In the Men's event, Timothy Sullivan of Australia, Zhou Wenjun of China and Farhat Chida of Tunisia will all be looking to repeat, or improve upon, their gold, silver and bronze performances respectively from the competition four years ago.

In the Women's 100m, Oksana Krechunyak of Ukraine, Isabelle Foerder of Germany and Lisa McIntosh of Australia will also be looking to add to their silverware. McIntosh and Foerder were the fastest two qualifiers for the final, in 14.27s and 14.28s respectively.

Women's 5000m - T54

A crash in Monday night's final of the Women's 5000m - T54 caused organizers to reschedule this event and the crowd at the Bird's Nest on Friday morning will be treated to this spectacular competition.

Evan O'Hanlon celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 12) -- Evan O'Hanlon of Australia claimed gold and a new world record with the time of 10.96 seconds in the Men's 100m T38 in the Bird's Nest on Friday, September 12. China's Zhou Wenjun and Ukraine's Mykyta Senyk took silver and bronze, clocking 11.14 and 11.18 seconds, respectively.

Earlier in the morning, Ukraine's Alla Malchyk also claimed a world record win with a throw of 9.33 meters (1048 points) in the Women's Shot Put final. Silver and bronze went to Wu Qing of China (1025) and Renata Chilewska of Poland (992).

Later in the Women's 200m - T38 heats, Ukraine's Inna Dyachenko and Tunisia's Sonia Mansour set a new world record, stopping the clocking at exactly the same time of 27.93 seconds. Both athletes qualified as top seeds for tonight's final.

Alla Malchyk elebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Five athletes will be crowned Paralympic champions at the Bird's Nest on Thursday evening, September 11, in what should be an action-packed session of heats and finals.

On the track, the big names of wheelchair racing will do battle in the finals of the Men's 5000m - T54 and the Men's 400m - T53 (both classifications covering different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations). In the Men's 5000m - T54, the Athens gold and silver medalists, Kurt Fearnley of Australia and Aaron Gordian of Mexico, are expected to be big threats. Fearnley set a Paralympic record (10:13.21 seconds) to qualify fastest for this final. In the 400m - T53, all three Athens medalists - Hamad Aladwani of Kuwait, Hong Suk-man of the Republic of Korea and Joshua George of the United States - will be in the hunt to add to their medal tallies. Hong will enter the race as the favorite, after setting a Paralympic record (49.13 seconds) in the heats.

In the field events, the final of the Men's Discus Throw - F32/51 (covering wheelchair athletes with cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries and amputations) should see some impressive results. Karim Betina of Algeria and Mourad Idoudi of Tunisia are going to be two athletes to watch, both recording some impressive throws this year.

The Women's Shot Put - F37/38 (covering ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) is sure to be equally exciting. Athens gold medalist Aldona Grigaliuniene of Lithuania and Athens bronze medalist Eva Berna of the Czech Republic have recorded some of the best scores this year and they will be likely to set the benchmark in Thursday evening's final.

Athletes in the Men's Pentathlon - P44 (classification for ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities) completed the first three disciplines on Thursday morning. Athens silver medalist Casey Tibbs of the United States got off to a good start, securing 995 points for his P44 Paralympic record (6.76 meters). Tibbs added a further 767 points from the Shot Put, but it was his compatriot Jeremy Campbell of the United States who putted the furthest (14.44). After two disciplines Campbell (1859 points) led the field, ahead of Tibbs, on 1762 points. In the 100m, Campbell continued to dominate the event, running 11.56 seconds (for a further 956 points). He will head into Thursday night's final two disciplines with 2815 points. Tibbs is ranked second, with 2713 points. Jeff Skiba of Team USA, and three-time Paralympic gold medalist in this event Urs Kolly of Swizerland, will need to dominate on Thursday evening to keep their gold medal hopes alive. The champion will be decided following the Discus and 400m.

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Denmark beat Belgium 13-6 in the final round of preliminary Goalball matches at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium on Thursday to secure a quarterfinal spot.

Denmark bounced back from a poor performance against Lithuania on Wednesday and was ranked third in pool A.

It was an even opening to the first half, apart from three penalties by Belgium, which gave Denmark a 6-2 advantage.

Belgium stormed back into contention in the latter part of the half, with two goals from Youssef Bihi and one from Vincent Buisseret to trail 6-5 at the half.

However, Belgium's comeback stalled, and nine goals from Sweden's Peter Weichel proved the difference.

Bihi finished with five for the game to take his tally in the preliminary rounds to an outstanding 20 goals.

Buisseret, who scored one goal for Belgium, said, "Some of our players were not in a good form both mentally and physically. We had six direct errors today, and that was fatal to this match."

Player of the game, Sweden's Weichel could not agree more with Buisseret, saying "We had a very good defense and we took advantage of the mistakes Belgium made."

"They seemed very nervous. You can feel that already in the beginning when we said hello to each other, you got the feeling that they were swelling at the beginning of the game. They were very nervous."

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Ukraine was too strong for Latvia (25-22, 25-20, 25-20) in the first classification match of Women's Sitting Volleyball at the CAU Gymnasium on Thursday, September 11.

Latvia started well with a four point lead. Impressive play from Latvia's Oksana Gromova was followed by costly mistakes by her team.

Ukraine turned the game around with strong spikes from Ilona Yudina and Larysa Klochkova. Nevertheless, Ukraine fought back and leveled the score 17-17 in the 14th minute.

A lifting call on Ukranian player Alla Lysenko was unfortunate for her team, but thanks to a number of unforced errors by Latvia and a long serve out of boundary by Nellija Rusina, Ukraine took out the first set 25-22.

Not much separated the two teams in the second set. Latvia scored some early points thanks to top-scorer Irina Jermolenko (21 points). Ukraine levelled the scores 12-12 after some much-needed spikes from captain Anzhelika Churkina (10 points) and Jermolenko. Ukraine stormed ahead in the final minutes to win the second set 25-20.

Latvia's game fell apart in the third set. Poor ball-handling, setting and receiving made it difficult for Latvia to attack, trailing 18-8 mid-way through the set. Latvia attempted a come-back, but it was too little too late, with Jermolenko's powerful spikes narrowing the score to 23-19. Ukraine's Yudina secured the win with a final spike ending the set 25-20.

Latvia, having only won one set so far (against Lithuania), blocked well and scored 15 blocking points to Ukraine's six. The team put up a good fight but was ultimately out-played by Ukraine.

(BEIJING, September 11) - Argentina and Brazil, the best two teams in the world, couldn't break the deadlock in an exciting 0-0 draw in the Football 5-a-Side tournament at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium, Pitch 2, on Thursday.
 
The first half was dominated by Brazil, even though they didn't manage to take many shots at the goal.
 
Severino Silva of Brazil was the first one to try his luck, but the ball went just wide 11 minutes into the game.
 
Argentine goalie Dario Lencina was only forced to make one save in the initial 25 minutes. It came when Brazil’s Marcos Felipe sent a fierce shot straight to the goalkeeper's body.
 
No team managed to find the back of the net and the second half saw Brazil again on the attack.
 
Ricardo 'Ricardinho' Alves was the main threat for the Argentines and he went close to scoring in a couple of opportunities.
 
Argentina never really created chances as Brazil kept the talented Silvio Velo at bay for the entire match.
 
With four minutes to go, Brazil had a golden opportunity to get ahead when Silva took a free-kick from the second penalty spot after Argentina went over the foul limit. Silva sent his shot flying wide to the relief of the Argentines.
 
Silva had another chance two minutes later with another free-kick from the second penalty spot. This time he kept the ball down, but it was still wide.
 
This is the first match in this tournament that finished 0-0. The result leaves Brazil with good chances to qualify for the gold medal match, while Argentina will need to wait for other results to help them.
 
Argentina will play the Republic of Korea on Saturday, September 13. Brazil will face Great Britain on the same day

(BEIJING, September 11) -- Denmark beat Belgium 13-6 in the final round of preliminary Goalball matches at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium on Thursday to secure a quarterfinal spot.

Denmark bounced back from a poor performance against Lithuania on Wednesday and was ranked third in pool A.

It was an even opening to the first half, apart from three penalties by Belgium, which gave Denmark a 6-2 advantage.

Belgium stormed back into contention in the latter part of the half, with two goals from Youssef Bihi and one from Vincent Buisseret to trail 6-5 at the half.

However, Belgium's comeback stalled, and nine goals from Sweden's Peter Weichel proved the difference.

Bihi finished with five for the game to take his tally in the preliminary rounds to an outstanding 20 goals.

Buisseret, who scored one goal for Belgium, said, "Some of our players were not in a good form both mentally and physically. We had six direct errors today, and that was fatal to this match."

Player of the game, Sweden's Weichel could not agree more with Buisseret, saying "We had a very good defense and we took advantage of the mistakes Belgium made."

"They seemed very nervous. You can feel that already in the beginning when we said hello to each other, you got the feeling that they were swelling at the beginning of the game. They were very nervous."

(Beijing, September 8) -- Australia's Michael Gallagher romped to an easy victory by some three seconds over his German opponent Wolfgang Sacher in the Men's LC1 Individual Pursuit, capturing his first ever Paralympic medal.

The outcome for double world record holder Gallagher was never in doubt. He led from the start, never allowing Sacher closer than half a second behind. The Australian was always aware of any looming threat and seemed capable of pressing the accelerator whenever his opponent looked to be closing the gap.

Italy's Fabio Triboli, third at the Athens 2004 Games, earned another bronze medal, convincingly beating Brazilian newcomer Soelito Ghor in the ride-off.

(BEIJING, September 7) -- Wolfgang Eibeck of Austria last won gold at the Atlanta 1996 Paralymic Games and has tried to repeat the feat unsuccessfully at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. He hopes, after a quarter of a century at the top of his chosen sport, that this will be his year at last.

Although he's number one in the Men's LC1 world rankings, he'll have to work hard to achieve his goal. He's up against stiff competition in the form of Italy's Fabio Triboli and Switzerland's Ivan Renglii, world-ranked second and third respectively, in the Men's Individual Pursuit (LC1) event at the Laoshan Velodrome on Monday, September 8.

An easier ride is expected for Jiri Jezek of Czech Republic who tops the world rankings in the Men's Individual Pursuit (LC2) class. Jezek took gold at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester, England earlier this year and won silver at the Athens 2004 Paralympics.

With the top two world-ranked riders missing, the Men's 1km Time Trial (B&VI) final is expected to be fought out between World No. 3 Brian Cowie (Canada), world fourth-ranked Francisco Gonzales (Spain), and Anthony Kappes (Great Britain) and Kieran Modra (Australia) ranked equal No. 5 in the world.

After his world record-breaking performances in the Men's Individual Pursuit (BV&I 1-3) event it would be foolhardy to bet against Modra, although the effort expended taking the Pursuit gold could well have left him drained of resources.

The Women's 500m Time Trial (LC1-2/CP4) looks wide open, although China's Zhou Jufang will be considered one of the front runners having taken gold in the 1km distance at Athens 2000 and is currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Racing in front of her home crowd will undoubtedly spur her to great efforts.

In the Women's 500m Time Trial (LC3-4/CP3), Natalie Simanowski of Germany arrives pumped up after her recent victory at the World Cup in Manchester.

But Simanowski will be pushed all the way by Susan Van Staden (South Africa) currently ranked No. 1 in the LC3 class, Barbara Buchan (United States) World No. 1 in the CP3 class, and by China's Tang Qi who will not only be desperate to win on home territory but will be keen to prove she's better than all the seconds and thirds she's been taking over the past few years.

(BEIJING, September 9) -- This exhibition of Paralympic Track Cycling just gets better and better. Seven more world records went down on Tuesday and more must surely be reset in the final day on Wednesday by an utterly dominant British team, which has now racked up seven gold medals, three of them on September 9, and contains no less than three double gold medalists.

First to turn one into two was Darren Kenny of Great Britain, Paralympic cycling's equivalent of Ussein Bolt, who set the track on fire scorching round to take the Men's 1km Time Trial (CP3) gold and smash the world record by almost three seconds, the first CP3 rider ever under 1:10.

It was almost a matter of pride for Kenny. Just moments earlier he'd seen his teammate Rik Waddon take two seconds off the world record he set at the 2007 World Championships in France. If he needed any incentive to burn the track down, this was it.

British double gold medalist number two was Simon Richardson who proved unbeatable in the Men's Individual Pursuit (LC3) final taking the crown by six seconds from Fujita Masaki of Japan.

The British rider was always favorite, having set a new world and Paralympic record in the heats, cropping nearly eight seconds from the previous world best set two years ago at Aigle, Switzerland.

Richardson didn't have it all his own way though, falling 1.5 seconds behind the Japanese cyclist at 1km after Fujita set off at a furious pace in an attempt to establish an unassailable lead. Richardson refused to be drawn into chasing his foe too early and gradually chipped away at the lead as Fujita tired.

By the 2km mark, the lead had changed hands and remained with the British rider.

Aileen Mcglynn and her pilot Ellen Hunter made it three double British gold medalists in a row when they wrecked the gold medal hopes of Lindy Hou of Australia, piloted by Toireasa Gallagher, speeding away from the start in the final of the Women's Individual Pursuit (B&VI 1-3), and never looked like being caught.

Mcglynn and Hunter were three seconds up at 2km and, despite a spirited charge by Hou and Gallagher over the final kilometer, the gap at the finish was 1.5 seconds.

Mark Bristow also came to Britain's party at last finally establishing himself as a world beater by taking gold in the Men's 1km Time Trial (LC1) in a new world record time. His previous individual bests were third in the Paralympic World Cup 1km Time Trial earlier this year and fourth in the 1km Time Trial at the World Championships in 2007.

Better known as a Team Sprint rider, in which he helped Britain take gold at both the World Championships and the World Cup, Bristow blazed round the track, never falling below world record pace and flashed over the line in a time of 1:08.873, trimming 0.2 second off the record.

Zhang Kuidong of China surprised everyone by taking silver, the first medal of the Games for China's men.

Yet another gold came Britain's way when Jody Cundy stormed home to set a new world record in the Men's 1km Time Trial (LC2).

Choosing the Time Trial as his only track event, Cundy had nothing to lose in pressing the pedal to the floor from the gun. With just a quarter of the distance gone he was already two seconds up on his closest rival and pressed home his advantage to carve over three seconds from his own world record set at last year's Paralympic Cycling World Championships in Bordeaux, France.

Second-placed Jiri Jezek of the Czech Republic could only stare in wonder as the British rider romped home more than five seconds faster than his own time, which had been a Paralympic record until Cundy shattered it.

While the British team was having a gold medal bonanza, two other golds won by Italy and Japan seemed almost petulant.

Ishii Masashi of Japan took the Men's 1km Time Trial (CP3) gold in a new world record time and gained sweet revenge for his millisecond defeat in the CP3 Individual Pursuit event at the hands of Australia's Chris Scott last Sunday.

Chasing a new Paralympic record time set by Jiri Czech Bouska moments earlier, Ishii flew away from the start and was always ahead of the pace, flashing across the line in 1:08.771, two seconds faster than Bouska to take Japan's first track cycling gold of the Games.

In the Men's Individual Pursuit (LC4) final Paolo Vigano of Italy proved himself a worthy favorite and duly took gold. There was no doubt about the result after Vigano cut four seconds off the world and Paralympic record in the heats, becoming the first LC4 rider to go under four minutes for the distance.

Vigano overwhelmed his opponent Michael Teuber of Germany by eight seconds and made up for his disappointment in failing to make the medals in the Time Trial (LC3-4) last Sunday despite setting a new world record in the LC4 class.

(BEIJING, September 9) -- The fourth day of play on Wednesday in the Table Tennis events at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games sees the first medals being awarded, all in the female events.

Gold, silver and bronze will be presented in Women's Individual Classes 1/2, Class 3, Class 4 and Class 5, the wheelchair categories, plus women's Individual Class 10 for standing players.

In Women's Individual Class 10, at the semifinal stage Natalia Partyka of Poland, the defending champion and No.1 seed, meets Michala La Bourdonnaye of the Czech Republic. The counterpart contest is an all Chinese affair with Hou Chunxiao facing Fan Lei.

In Women's Individual Class 3, Mateja Pintar of Slovenia, the reigning champion and No.1 seed, plays Li Qian of China at the penultimate stage, while Michela Brunelli of Italy faces Alena Kanova of Slovakia, the Athens 2004 bronze medalist.

In Women's Individual Class 4 semifinals, Borislava Peric of Serbia, the No.1 seed, meets Monika Sikora Weinmann of Germany, the gold medalist in 2004, and Zhou Ying of China plays Moon Sung-hye of the Republic of Korea.

In Women's Individual Class 5, Andrea Zimmerer of Germany, seeded No.1, opposes Gu Gai of China in the semifinals with the counterpart contest seeing Khetam Abuawad of Jordan in opposition to Ren Guixiang of China, the Athens champion.

In Women's Individual Classes 1/2, Clara Podda of Italy, seeded No.1, meets Liu Jing of China in the semifinals; Pamela Pezzutto of Italy confronts Isabelle Lafaye Marziou of France, the reigning champion.

In Women's Individual Classes 6/7, the top four seeds are all in action. Kelly Van Zon of Netherlands, seeded No.1, plays Natalia Martyasheva of Russia, seeded No.3. Yulia Ovsyannikova of Russia, seeded No.2 opposes Faiza Mahmoud Afify of Egypt, seeded No.4.

In Women's Individual Class 8, Thu Kamkasomphou of France, seeded No.1, meets her compatriot Claire Mairie and Josefin Abrahamsson of Sweden plays Zhang Xiaoling of China, the winner of Classes 6/8 in Athens.

In Women's Individual Class 9, Lei Lina of China, seeded No.1, plays Malgorzata Grzelak of Poland at the penultimate stage, with Neslihan Kavas of Turkey confronting Liu Meili of China. In Athens in 2004 Liu and Lei met in the final with Liu the victor.

In Men's Individual Class 1, none of the Athens medalists has reached the penultimate stage. Cho Jae-kwan of the Republic of Korea plays Jean-Francois Ducay of France in the first semifinal; in the second semifinal, Andreas Vevera of Austria, seeded No.1, confronts Lee Hae-kon of the Republic of Korea.

At the semifinal stage of Men's Individual Class 2, Stephane Molliens of France plays Lars Hansen of Denmark, while in the counterpart duel it is France's Vincent Boury versus the Republic of Korea's Kim Kyung-mook. In Athens, Kim was the bronze medalist.

In Men's Individual Class 3, Luiz Algacir Silva of Brazil plays Feng Panfeng of China, and Tomas Pinas of Spain meets Jean-Philippe Robin of France, the Athens silver medalist.

In Men's Individual Class 4/5, Tommy Urhaug of Norway, seeded No.1, plays Christophe Durandof France, the Athens bronze medalist; Sameh Saleh of Egypt confronts Jung Eun-chang of the republic of Korea, the Athens silver medalist.

In Men's Individual Class 6, Daniel Arnold of Germany, seeded No. 1 and the Athens gold medalist, meets Nico Blok of the Netherlands. Rainer Schmidt of Germany, the man Arnold beat in the final at the 2004 Paralympic Games, plays Peter Rosenmeier of Denmark, the No.2 seed.

In Men's Individual Class 7, Jochen Wollmert of Germany, seeded No.1 and the silver medalist in Athens, plays Alvaro Valera of Spain at the penultimate stage. In the corresponding contest it is Mitchell Seidenfeld of the United States in opposition to Ye Chaoqun of China, the No.2 seed.

In the semifinals of Men's Individual Class 8, Li Manzhou of China opposes Chen Gang of China with Miroslav Jambor of Slovakia playing Piotr Grudzien of Poland. None of the Athens medalists progressed to the penultimate round.

In Men's Individual Classes 9-10, Fredrik Andersson of Sweden, the Athens Men's Individual Class 10 silver medalist, meets Ma Lin of China and Ge Yang of China, the Athens Class 10 bronze medalist, plays Gerben Last of Netherlands.

(BEIJING, September 9) -- Excitement mounted in the morning session of play on the third day of action in the Table Tennis events in the PKU Gymnasium on Tuesday; a place in the second stage of proceedings was at stake; only the first placed player in each of the groups qualifies for the knock-out section and the possibility of a precious medal.

In the wheelchair events (Classes 1-5) the competition was intense and it was the same in the Standing categories (Classes 6-10).

In the Women's Individual Class 4 event Monika Sikora-Weinmann of Germany, the Athens gold medalist plus Moon Sung-hye from the Republic of Korea, Zhou Ying of China and Borislava Peric of Serbia, the No. 1 seed, secured semifinal places.

Sikora-Weinmann maintained her unbeaten record to overcome ROK's Jun Ji-nam, while Peric completed her programme unscathed with victory over Fatmeh Al-Azzam of Jordan.

Similarly Zhou Ying continued her impressive run by defeating Sue Gilroy of Great Britain with Moon causing the surprise; in the crucial contest to determine top place, she beat Valeria Zorzetto of Italy, the silver medalist four years ago in Athens.

The semifinalists in Women's Individual Class 5 are also known now. They are Ren Guixiang of China, the defending champion, Andrea Zimmerer of Germany, the No. 1 seed, plus Gu Gai of China and Khetam Abuawad of Jordan.

All the four remained unbeaten in their respective group matches with Ren completing her program with victory over Ingela Lundback of Sweden, while Zimmerer defeated China's Zhang Bian and Abuawad accounted for Noga Nir Kistler of the United States. The one surprise was provided by Gu. In her concluding group match, she defeated Wei Mei-hui of Chinese Taipei, the 2004 bronze medalist.

The qualifiers are also known in Men's Individual Class 4-5 with Tommy Urhaug of Norway, the No. 1 seed plus Kim Byoung-young and Jung Eun-chang from the Republic of Korea, the respective Class 5 gold and silver medal winners in Athens, all emerging as group winners. Also finishing in first place in their groups and thus keeping medal hopes alive are: Ernst Bollden of Sweden, Choi Kyoung-sik of the Republic of Korea, zhang Yan of China and Emeric Martin of France.

Similarly, the decision of those who progress in Men's Individual Classes 9/10 is known with Jose Manuel Ruiz of Spain, the No. 1 seed plus Ge Yang of China, the Class 10 bronze medalist in 2004 and Fredrik Andersson of Sweden, the silver medalist four years ago, all booking their places.

Also through are Ma Lin of China, Gilles De La Bourdonnaye of France and Esa Miettinen of Finland. They all remained unbeaten.

The one remaining qualifier is Dezso Berecki from the Czech Republic, in a group where all three players recorded one win each and were level on games ratio, he gained the verdict on points ratio over countryman Ivan Karabec and Tajudeen Agunbiade of Nigeria.

Alas for the respective gold, silver and bronze medalists in the Athens Men's Individual Class 9 event, there was no further progress. Stanislaw Fraczyk of Austria, Lu Xiaolei of China and Tahl Leibovitz of the United States, all failed to qualify as did Ladislav Gaspar of Slovakia, the Class 10 gold medalist four years ago.

Meanwhile, in Men's Individual Class 3, Feng Panfeng of China, Jean-Philippe Robin of France, Thomas Pinas of Spain, Neil Robinson of Great Britain, Liran Geva of Israel, Florian Merrien of France and Zlatko Kesler of Serbia completed their group matches unbeaten. In 2004 Robin was the silver medalist while Kesler capturd bronze. Merrien is the No. 1 seed.

However, in the Men's Individual Class 8 event, the names of the qualifiers are not yet known and there could well be a new name standing on the top of the podium. Mathieu Loicq of Belgium, the gold medalist in Athens, was beaten by Piotr Grudzien of Poland.

Defeat for one Belgian but success for another. Marc Ledoux of Belgium, the silver medalist four years ago, beat Ian Kent of Canada while Richard Csejtey of Slovakia, the No. 1 seed and bronze medalist in Athens, overcame Hou Ting-sung of Chinese Taipei.

(Beijing, September 9) -- Brazil was well represented at the Olympic Games and at the Paralympic Games the South American country is also present in force, not only in terms of players but also in terms of officials.

Leonor Demario of Brazil was on duty umpiring at the Olympics, while at the Paralympics, her compatriot, Maria Jose Ferrer is officiating. Not only are both ladies from Brazil, in fact they hail from the same city, Itajuba, in the south west of the state of Minais Gerais.

"I was a Table Tennis player in Brazil before I started to umpire," explained Ferrer. "I left school in 1977 and went to the United States to learn English for one year."

Knowledge of English is an essential ingredient for an international umpire.

"In 1978, there was an international tournament in my town," continued Ferrer. "I went to the president of the local Table Tennis association to ask what I could do to help, the answer was to be an umpire, now it's what I love doing."

It is the best seat in the house; you have a first class view of the action.

"Players are from different countries and speak different languages, but in the Table Tennis arena they communicate not by words, but by signals," explained Ferrer. "Everyone knows the rules and usually everything goes smoothly."

Ferrer is a regular face on the international scene. She umpired at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and has become accustomed to meeting the world's best players, but officiating at the Paralympic Games is somewhat new.

"Umpiring at the Paralympics is different; I am not so familiar with the players. Everything is new for me," Ferrer continued. "I umpired in 2007 at Parapan, the Para Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. I saw a great spirit, great determination and from that moment on I began dreaming about umpiring in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics."

The experience at Parapan motivated Ferrer.

"To umpire at the 2008 Paralympics is gift for me, not everyone has the chance to experience such a unique event," said Ferrer. "For me it is great to see so many people from different countries, who have traveled a long way to come here, being just the same as me. They all have a great love for Table Tennis; we are no different."

Not only was Ferrer motivated by Parapan, so was the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation, under the leadership of Alaor Azevedo, who also is present in Beijing. November 26-29, 2009, the city of Rio de Janeiro will host the Brazilian Open for the Disabled, the biggest such tournament ever staged in Latin America.

"Almost all the players who played in the 2007 Parapan tournament will join the rest of the world in Rio," said Ferrer. "It is a big chance for the players in Latin America. I'm proud my country can host such a tournament and certainly I'll be there; I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Ferrer is now a very experienced umpire in mainstream Table Tennis, but in the Paralympics she has to be totally focused all the time.

"The rules in some classes are different in the Paralympics. For example the service of wheelchair players, I must call a let if the player serves the ball over the side of the table," the Brazilian explained. "However, more often than not it's the players who tell me if that has happened; they see it before I do!"

Such adjustments are a minor difficulty for the umpires. For them the Paralympics is a learning experience as well as a motivating event. All are delighted to be in Beijing, none more so than Maia Jose Ferrer.

(BEIJING, September 7) -- Saturday night's Opening Ceremony marked the beginning of the Paralympic Games for over 4000 athletes competing in Beijing. About a quarter of these will be contesting the Athletics events at the Bird's Nest and have one more day to fine tune their techniques before competition begins on Monday, September 8.

Athletics stars from across the globe have been completing their final training routines at the National Stadium warm-up venue. On Monday the Bird's Nest arena will be transformed, and the first 10 Paralympic Athletics gold medals will be decided.

Altogether 1041 athletes will compete in the Athletics competition which runs through to the morning of the Closing Ceremony (September 17) when the final five gold medals, in the marathon, are decided. Eighteen morning and evening sessions (encompassing 401 heats and finals) will decide the winners of 160 Paralympic Athletics gold medals.

The Athletics competition includes track and road events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, 4x100m, 4x400m and Marathons); field events (Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin, Shot Put, Discus Throw and Club Throw); and Pentathlon events.

Athletes compete according to their functional classifications in each event. Classes 11, 12 and 13 cover the different levels of visual impairment of an athlete. Class 20 covers athletes with an intellectual disability. Classes 32-38 covers athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy -- both wheelchair (32-36) and ambulant (35-38). Classes 40-46 cover ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities (les Autres). Classes 51-58 cover wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations.

One country that is likely to be competitive across all 10 days of competition is the host nation, China. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, China finished with 58 athletic medals (including 25 gold, 20 silver and 13 bronze).

These impressive results helped China to the top of the overall medal rankings in Athens (with 141 medals -- 63 gold, 46 silver and 32 bronze). There is no doubt that they will be looking to replicate, and use their home-ground advantage to extend, these results in Beijing.

Thirty-eight Athletics competitors will celebrate their birthdays during the Paralympic Games and will be hoping to pick up the ultimate present -- a gold medal.

(BEIJING, September 9) -- It started out a rather rainy, gloomy morning but soon brightened up when athletes won medals in four field and three track finals on the second day of Athletics at the Bird's Nest.

In multi-classification events such as the Women's Discus F54-56, Men's Shot Put F57/58 and Women's Discus F35/36 medals are awarded through a points system.

Women's Long Jump F44 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les Autres, eg. dwarfism)

The scoreboard displayed a scattering of results over the many attempts by participants in the Women's Long Jump F44 before Athens 2004 gold medalist Andrea Scherney of Austria triumphed over world record holder Marie-Amelie le Fur of France. Scherney took first place with a jump of 4.82m earning 966 points while le Fur settled for silver with 4.71m (944 points), below her 5.04m record of 2007. Astrid Hofte of Germany won the bronze with a jump of 4.67m (936 points).

Women's Discus F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy)

Wu Qing won the gold medal for China with her throw of 25.80m (1199 points). In second place was Australia's Kath Proudfoot with her season's best of 23.91m (1111 points) and Ukraine's Alla Malchyk, the F36 world record holder came in third with 22.15m (1029 points). The Athens 2004 silver medalist Bai Xuhong of China achieved a throw of 23.42m but according to the multi-classification system only got 975 points which were only good enough for a fifth place.

Men's 100m T36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy)

Hong Kong's So Wa-wai failed to better his world record time (12.15) or his silver medal standing (Athens 2004). He only managed 12.38 which put him in third place. Finishing first was Roman Pavlyk from Ukraine with a Paralympic record of 12.25, followed close behind by Great Britain's Ben Rushgrove with 12.35.

Women's 100m T11 and Women's 100m T12 (athletes with different levels of visual impairment)

In the Women's 100m T11, China's Wu Chunmiao took off with a flying start and led all the way to the finish line in 12.31, creating a new Paralympics record and winning gold. Terezinha Guilhermina of Brazil, who still holds the world record of 12.27, had to settle for second place while compatriot Adria Santos, the gold medalist at the Athens 2004 Paralympics, won the bronze medal with a 13.07 run.

In the Women's 100m T12, athletes from Ukraine, Great Britain and Spain took the top three spots. Ukraine's Oxana Boturchuk took the lead and was far ahead of the competition, winning gold in 12.38. The silver medal went to Libby Clegg of Great Britain with a run of 12.51, her season's best, and close on her heels was Eva Ngui of Spain who secured bronze with 12.58.

Women's Discus F54-56 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries or amputations)

Veteran Paralympian Marianne Buggenhagen of Germany, 55, secured the gold medal on her third attempt when she threw 27.80m (1060 points), topping her own 55 class record from 2006. China's Wang Ting won the silver medal with a throw of 17.04m on her sixth attempt and got 1010 points according to the multi-classification point system. The bronze medal went to Jana Fesslova of the Czech Republic for her throw of 24.82s which gave her 946 points.

Suely Guimaraes of Brazil who holds the world record of 24.67m (Atlanta 1996) in the 56 class only managed an eighth place with her throw of 21.98 and 838 points.

Men's Shot Put F57/58 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries or amputations)

All three medalists from Athens 2004 were on the start list but only Jamil Elshebli of Jordan secured a medal this time, according to the multi-classification point system. Elshebli won the silver with 14.28m (1064 points) and bettered his own 57 class world record. In third place was Anastasios Tsiou of Greece who secured 1023 points with a throw of 13.72m. The winner was Alexey Ashapatov of Russia, who shattered his own 58 class world record (15.75m) with his final throw of 16.03m and 1072 points.

At the end of the morning session, only one world record was broken in the heats, in the Women's 100m T38 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy). Inna Dyachenko of Ukraine clocked 13.56, improving her own world mark of 13.62, recorded in Croatia in May 2008. The final of this event will be held on Tuesday evening.

Diane Roy celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 8) -- Just like the morning session, the evening had 22 heats along with six finals which included the first track final of the Athletics competition. World and Paralympic records were set in the National Stadium and the Women's 5000m - T54 was marred by an accident.

Unfortunately for some participants of the Women's 5000m - T54 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations), a collision in the last lap, less than 100m from the finish line, caused six athletes to fall and abandon their race. The accident involved all three medalists from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Wakako Tsuchida of Japan, Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland and Cheri Blauwet of the United States. Only five athletes finished the race and Diane Roy of Canada appeared to have taken the first Track gold medal in 11:54.03, setting a new Paralympic record. A close second was Shelly Woods of Great Britain with 11:54.29, while American Amanda McGrory came in third with 11:54.84. It was later announced that these results may not hold and the race is expected to be rescheduled on Tuesday.

Karim Betina of Algeria stole the show early in the Men's Shot Put - F32 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) when he broke the world record (9.92m) with just his second attempt (9.94m). It was just no stopping him after that as his throws kept improving and he landed the gold medal with a world record-breaking throw of 10.65m. Tunisia's Mourad Idoudi threw to a distance of 10.40m and picked up the silver, while third place went to Betina's teammate Mounir Bakiri with 9.37m.

China had to settle for fifth place in the Women's Long Jump - F42 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres) when Zhang Haiyuan, former world record holder, failed to repeat her winning performance of 2004 (Athens, Paralympics) and only managed a jump of 3.44m. Poland's Ewa Zielinska came in third with 3.62m, behind Annette Roozen of the Netherlands who secured the second spot with 3.63m. The gold medal went to Australian Christine Wolf who set a world record with her jump of 3.73m.

In the Men's Javelin - F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy), the clear favorite was China's Guo Wei. Cheered on by his home crowd, Guo Wei's first attempt at 54.92m broke his own world record in the F35 class and he did it again in his second throw with 56.07m which won him the top spot. Through the multi-classification event point system, Guo Wei was crowned gold medalist with 1283 points. In second place was Pawel Piotrowski of Poland who also got pass the old world record mark but his throw of 42.88m and 1158 point only earned him a Silver medal while Nicholas Newman of South Africa came in third with 42.48m and 1147 points.

Jackie Christiansen of Denmark won the gold and created a world record in the Men's Shot Put F44 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres). Christiansen blew away the competition with his throw of 17.89m and earned himself 1117 points. The second spot went to Australian Paul Raison with 15.83m and 988 points while Gerdan Fonseca of Cuba took bronze with 15.65m and 977 points.

Men's Discuss F33/34/52 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy and different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations) was the first final to begin and the last to end with a stellar display of strength and skill from all the athletes. In this multi-classification field event medals are awarded according to a point system. A new F52 world record (20.47m) ensured Aigars Apinis of Latvia the gold, with 1097 points. Chris Martin of Great Britain set the F33 Paralympic record with 28.37m (1074 points) and Roman Musil of the Czech Republic came in third with 27.11m (1026 points).

"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius competes at the Bird's Nest (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Records were broken in some of the heats as well. In the Men's 100m - T11 heats, Lucas Prado of Brazil bettered his own world record of 11.26s when he sprinted to the finish line in a quick 11.19s, while Kurt Fearnley of Australia qualified for the finals of the Men's 5000m - T54 setting a Paralympic record of 10:13.21. South African Oscar Pistorius, better known as the "Blade Runner" also set a Paralympic record in the Men's 100m - T44 heats in 11.16s.