Petitclerc picked up her second gold in the women’s 400m in the T54 category in a season best 52.02. Roy, participating in her second race of the day, won the bronze with a season best 54.72.

“I had a good solid race,” said Petitclerc. “My goal was to set a new world record. I didn’t quite reach it, but I got the second best time in history and it’s the closest I’ve been to surpassing my old record. I want to try to make sure no one beats my records, by beating them myself.”

In the same race, Jessica Matassa (Oldcastle, ON) finished eight in 55.22.

Roy’s bronze followed the silver medal she earned in the 5000m women’s final with a time of 12:29.08. She was just a hundredth of a second behind the winner, American Amanda McGrory.

“I’m sad for sure (after having won the gold in the first race that was protested), but I have to take it,” said Roy after being asked yesterday to give back the gold medal she was presented with. “Yesterday, I had a semifinal and when I got here this morning I was tired. I was not who I was on Monday, and a little nervous. I knew I had to do it and I did well.”

Tracey Ferguson (Holland Landing, ON) finished seventh in this race in 12:31.77, despite suffering an injury from the crash in the 5000m on Monday.

“I didn’t quite have the kick I wanted to because of my injury, but I’m very happy about my performance,” she said. “I had a good start, and stayed competitive until the finish. Re-running the race is what they chose to do and as athletes, we do what we have to.”

The other medalists were Kyle Pettey (Brampton, ON), who earned a bronze in the men’s F33/34/52 shot put; IIana Duff (Bradwell, SK) with a bronze in the T53 women’s 100m; and Dean Bergeron (St.-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC) who placed third in the T52 men’s 400m.

 Pettey’s best throw was on his first attempt – 11.04.

"Everything I put in the last two years finally came together. I won the bronze, but it means so much to me because my objective was to be at the top of my category, which I did. It was a perfect day,” Pettey said.

Duff will be taking home a bronze medal from her first Paralympic Games, after clocking in at 17.69 in the women’s T53 women’s 100m.

"It’s all a dream for me! I was 100% focused at the start; I felt very confident,” she said.

Just eleven hundredths of a second from second place, Bergeron completed the T52 men’s 400m in 1:00.43. The winner, Tomoya Ito, from Japan, set a new Paralympic record of 57.25.

 “I knew it would be a really tough race against the two Japanese. My goal was to do 59s and I was going for gold. When I saw him (Ito) in front with only 200 meters to go, I lost my concentration, and motivation, and I messed up the end of my race.”

In the same race, André Beaudoin (Montreal, QC) finished in eighth in 1:05.58.

In other athletics action, Kris Vriend (Edmonton, AB) finished six in the F35/36 women’s shot put with her best throw of 7.05 coming on her fifth attempt. She finished with 792 points.

In the men’s 200m round one, Colin Mathieson finished in 26.37, a time that wasn’t good enough to qualify.

In the T54 men’s 800m semifinal, Jean-Paul Campaore (Sherbrooke, QC) had a time of 1:35.43, which wasn’t good enough to qualify.

Swimming

Canadian swimmers accounted for four of the ten medals Canada earned today, with the “sweep” women cleaning up again – this time in the women’s 200m individual medley in the S13 category.

Chelsey Gotell (Antigonish, NS) earned gold in the a new world record time of 2:28.15, Kirby Cote (Winnipeg, MB) was second in 2:28.65 and Valerie Grand’Maison (Montreal, QC) was third in 2:29.29. The trio also took all the medals in the women’s 100m butterfly on Sept. 6 – but in a different order.

“We push each other so much.  If it wasn’t for these two girls, I wouldn’t be standing on that podium,” said Gotell after the 200m IM. “I don’t know where that race came from; I’m so happy to be apart of another sweep for Canada.”

Grand’Maison echoed Gotell’s comments, “These two girls are the best in the world – how can I not be excited to stand on the podium next to them.  It was a tight, good race and I gave it my all in the first 100 meters. It’s a personal best, but I know that this is a race I have to work on.”

Cote, the previous 200m IM record holder, stated, “If I were to give that record to anyone – it would be Chelsey.  The field in our class is so much faster.  The fact that I’m still here, standing on that podium, it’s awesome.”

Stephanie Dixon (Victoria, BC) won silver in a Canadian record time of 4:39.73 in the women’s 400m freestyle in the S9 category. The medal brings Dixon’s medal tally to two silvers and a bronze in a class that pits her against South African swimming powerhouse Natalie du Toit.

“A lot of time and energy has gone into my training over the last year. I’m in the best shape of my life,” said Dixon. “I came in tonight prepared to race; I kept my head in my own lane and went for it. I put forth my best effort and I can’t wait for my 100m backstroke tomorrow.”

Dixon’s team-mate Brittany Gray (Barrie, ON) finished seventh in 4:58.08.

Andrea Cole (London, ON) established a new Canadian record with her time of 5:30.01 in the women’s 400m freestyle in the S8 category, but the time was only good enough for sixth place.

In other finals, Donovan Tildesley (Vancouver, BC) finished fourth in 1:01.92 in the men’s 100m freestyle in the S11 category; Stephanie McDougall (Maple Ridge, BC) was eighth in 1:57.78 in the women’s 100m breaststroke in the SB6 category; and Amber Thomas (Drayton Valley, AB) ended up seventh in 1:14.39 and Jessica Tuomela (Waterloo, ON) eighth in 1:14.79 in the women’s 100m freestyle in the S11 category. McDougall’s established a new Canadian record of 1:56.10 in the preliminaries of the 100m breaststroke.

Failing to qualify in the preliminaries were Drew Christensen, of New Westminster, BC (5:18.13 in the S8 men’s 400m freestyle); Jacqueline Rennebohm, of Regina, SK, (1:09.64 in S12 women’s 400m freestyle); and Devin Gotell, of Antigonish, NS (2:31.61 in the SM13 men’s 200m IM).

Also, in the women’s 400m freestyle in the S9 category, Darda Sales (Sarnia, ON) was disqualified for a false start.

Archery

Norbert Murphy (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC) was eliminated today in the quarterfinals of the men’s individual compound in the W1 category with a 111-97 loss to Osmo Kinnunum, of Finland.

“I woke up this morning not feeling 100%.  I gave it my all considering how I was feeling,” he said.

Also eliminated was Kevin Evans (Jaffray, BC) when he was defeated 111 to 110 by John Stubbs, of Great Britain, in the men’s individual compound, open.

“The arrow after my seven score should have been a ten. I was on the line and couldn’t bring my arrow down but I knew that it didn’t feel right,” said Evans. “I have had an amazing experience at these Games and now I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my time enjoying the other venues and sights in China with my family.”

Goalball

The Canadian men’s goalball team lost 10-0 to gold-medal favourite Lithuania to end their round-robin play.

The game remained scoreless until almost the four minute mark, when Lithuania's throw bounced over Rob Christy (Ottawa, ON) and went into the net.

The Lithuanian team then scored on a penalty shot to make it 2-0. On the opponents’ third goal, high-scorer Marius Zibolis found the hole between Mario Caron (St. Eustache, QC) and Jeff Christy (Kemptville, ON).  Another penalty throw against Jeff Christy was a fast throw to the right corner of the net and the score was 5-0. Another goal off a penalty throw followed.

It looked like there might be an end to Lithuania's scoring streak when a penalty was called against the team for "illegal coaching." Caron launched a characteristically strong and accurate throw, only to be denied by an impressive block.

Caron followed it up by a throw that did hit the mark, but it was called on a high ball penalty. Once again, Lithuania's penalty throw went in, and so did their next two to bring the score to 9-0.

The second half saw Dean Kozak (Ottawa, ON) and Bruno Hache (St. Eustache, QC) substituted for Caron and Rob Christy. Three minutes into play, Lithuania scored their tenth goal.

The game was declared over with 6:53 still on the clock and the score at 10-0.

Lithuania played an aggressive but careful game. Of the game's seven penalties, only one was against Lithuania.

“We conceded too many (penalties),” said Caron.

The team will now compete for fifth to eight place.

“We want to get some pride and finish as high as we can; so we have to get over this (loss) quickly and be ready for our game tomorrow,” said Kozak.

The Canadian men play tomorrow against Finland. 

In women’s play, Canada tied the United States at 1-1.

Less than a minute into the game, the United States were on the scoreboard. The Canadians managed to hold their opponents to a single goal for the rest of the half through excellent blocking. 

Strong saves and team defence continued into the second half.

Amy Alsop (Regina, SK) aggressively defended the crease, smothering each ball that approached.

Five minutes into the half, Nancy Morin (Longueuil, QC) scored for Canada.

The women meet China tomorrow in their final round-robin match up. China is currently undefeated.

Sailing

Sailor Paul Tingley (Halifax, NS) reclaimed the series lead today following races seven and eight in the 1P keelboat (2.4mR) and is in an excellent position heading into the final day of sailing competition. The sailing medals will be given out tomorrow.

Tingley only has a five-point lead over yesterday’s leader John Ruf, of the United States. In race seven, Tingley placed second, while Tuf had the worst showing of the competition and finished tenth. Tingley was fourth in race eight just behind Tuf.

“I got out of my funk today, and made some good decisions. Race eight has been by far the closest race,” said Tingley. “Tomorrow, I am going to play it like any other race, or at least I hope to. I’ll sail fast and the chips will fall where they may.”

Also with a medal possibility are the 2P keelboat (SKUD18) Canadian pair of John Scott McRoberts (Victoria, BC) and Stacie Louttit (Victoria, BC) who sit in second after races seven to nine with one more day of racing remaining. Americans Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon Tucker have mathematically clinched gold, so the Canadians will be battling with Australians for the silver.

“We got a bad start in race nine, then on the first windward leg had to do a penalty turn, but we are confident of winning silver,” said McRoberts.

In the 3P keelboat (sonar), the Canadian trio of Ken Kelly (Victoria, BC), Don Terlson (Victoria, BC) and Marc Shaw (Victoria, BC) are well back of the leaders. The top five teams are France, Australia, Germany, Greece and Norway.

 Road cycling

Canada’s cyclists didn’t have much luck today in the road races against the clock.

In the category B 12.7 km handcycling event, Rico Morneau (Ste-Martine, QC) finished ninth in 23:36.24, just ahead of his team-mate Mark Beggs (Montreal, QC), who finished tenth five seconds later.

“I gave everything. At any given moment, I went so fast on the turns that only two of my three wheels were on the ground,” said Morneau, who is at his first Paralympic Games.

Competing in handcycling, cross-country skier Shauna Maria Whyte (Hinton, AB) finished in ninth place in the 26:45.20. The Albertan experienced technical problems and her chain fell off twice.

In the men’s 24.8km time trial in the CP3 category, Jean Quevillon (Ste-Adèle, QC) found the course particularly difficult.

“The course wasn’t made for me because of the numerous turns and the hills,” said Quevillon, who finished fifth.

Brayden McDougall (Calgary, Alberta) was forced to drop out of the race because of mechanical problems with his rear wheel.

In the 24.8km tandem men’s time trial, Daniel Chalifour (Lac-aux-Écorces, QC) and Alexandre Cloutier (Québec City, Québec) finished in 11th place in 33:41.84, about one minute and 40 seconds behind the first place finishers. Stéphane Côté (Québec City, Québec) et Pierre-Olivier Boily (Sherbrooke, QC) finished in 13th place in 35:03.26, and Brian Cowie (Burnaby, BC) and Devon Smibert (Calgary, Alberta) were 15th in 35:10.72.

In women’s competition, the tandem of Geneviève Ouellet (Amos, QC) and pilot Mathilde Hupin (Bromont, QC), finished tenth in 42:53.16.

In other cycling competitions, Eric Bourgault (Orford, QC) finished ninth in 38:58.26 in the men’s time trial in the LC category, and Mark Breton (Charlesbourg, Quebec) was 11th in 38:15.21 in the men’s time trial in the LC 1 category.

Shooting

Christos Trifonidis (Vancouver, BC) finished 15th in the mixed R6-50m free rifle prone competition (SH1) today – the last day of the shooting competition. A finalist in the mixed R3-10m air rifle prone in the SHI class Friday, Trifonidis shot for 584 points, which was not enough to advance.

“Chris shot well, but his eye infection that appeared Thursday affected him, particularly on the three last shots, where he got nines. He had difficulty concentrating,” said his coach Rick Ward (Kanata, ON). “If those shots were tens, he certainly would have made it to the final.”

Wheelchair basketball

Canada’s women’s basketball team fell 53-49 to Australia today in the quarterfinals, dashing any hope of earning a Paralympic medal. The Canadians missed shots and were soft on defence.

“We knew what kind of game we wanted to play but today weren’t able to execute them as we should have,” said head coach Tim Frick. “Today, we lost on defence and didn’t get the breaks we needed to take home the win against Australia.”

The pressure was on in the last ten minutes for Canada to play catch up, and Canada took the lead for the first time in the game. Misty Thomas (Vancouver, BC) added four points from the paint and Kendra Ohama (Calgary, AB) added two making it 43-42. A foul by Jen Krempien (Richmond, BC) gave the Australians two attempts at the line, but it was a quick offensive rebound that moved the Aussies ahead and they didn't look back.

Team Canada wasn’t able to catch up and was knocked out of the medal round. Canada will meet China for the second time in the tournament to battle it out for fifth place. This will be the first time since 1992 that the women will not make it to the medal round.

Misty Thomas led the way with 21 points, including five free throws and 13 defensive rebounds. Chantal Benoit (Ottawa, ON) had 11 points and Tara Feser (St. Albert, AB) and Janet McLachlan (West Vancouver, BC) had four each. The team shot 38% from the field and 53% in free throws.

The men’s team had the day off.

Wheelchair rugby

Canada’s wheelchair rugby team opened the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games with a 48-40 win over Japan today. Top scorers were Fabien Lavoie (Quebec City, QC) with 16 points, Ian Chan (Surrey, BC) with 13 points and Mike Whitehead (Harrow, ON) with 11 points.

The first quarter ended with Canada and Japan tied at 12. The Canadians played an incredible game defensively and offensively with 11 assist blocks, 16 assist passes, three turnovers and three steals.

Japan had 10 exclusions, while Canada finished the game with only two.

“We knew coming into this game that Japan’s high pointers were really solid and have a lot of speed,” said Lavoie. “We’re good at screening and picking so we knew coming into this game that offensively, they couldn’t stop us. We are more balanced and I have total confidence in my teammates.”

Canada plays China on Saturday, and the United States on Sunday.