Prior to the race, Stilwell said she was looking for a twin for the gold medal she won in the 200m.

“The start is my strongest asset and in a short distance like this, it’s all about the start. I was just focused on going faster than the other girls who worked just as hard as I did,” she said.

Her coach in Beijing, Jean Laroche said, “It’s a perfect way to finish a year. Mikey (Stilwell’s nickname) trained hard, performed well all year, and set new world records.”

In the men’s 1500m final in the T11 category, Jason Dunkerley (Ottawa, ON) and his guide Greg Dailey (Toronto, ON) won the bronze in a time of 4:12.53. The pair got off to a good start, and got well positioned at the beginning. They stayed focused throughout the strategic race.

“I am very proud of coming here and running like we did. The competition level was pretty high. I am very proud of Greg. He gets me in the right place at the right pace, and he wants it just as much as I do,” said Dunkerley. “I am very happy to share this experience with Greg and also with my brother (Jonathan), who is also competing at the Games, my coach, my teammates, my parents, and especially my wife who is a great source of inspiration.”

Dunkerley showed his respect for his guide by taking his medal off his own neck during the medal ceremony and placing it around his guide’s. Guides are not given medals.

“They ran the race like experts. Jason is a real seasoned veteran. With the Chinese at the head of the race, and the crowd cheering loudly for them, it wasn’t easy to stay concentrated like they were,” said Dunkerley’s coach Dave Greig.

Ilana Duff (Bradwell, SK) finished fifth in 31.47 in the T53 women’s 200m final.

In qualifications, Chantal Petitclerc (Montreal, QC) finished first in her heat in a time of 3:29.87 in the women’s 1500m in the T54 category. Diane Roy (Hatley, QC) finished second in the heat in 3:30.07. They both qualified for the final with a season best time. Tracey Ferguson (Holland Landing, ON) finished in a time of 3:36.11 and did not qualify.

Also not advancing on Monday were Josh Cassidy (Oakville, ON), who finished fifth overall in the men’s 1500m semifinal in the T54 category, and Michel Filteau (St.-Jean Baptiste, QC), who finished in 3:20.01.

Filteau had a slow start due to a deflated tire. “It’s disappointing, but there’s not much I could do. I managed to finish in a decent time considering this technical problem,” he said.

In round one of the men’s 100m in the T54 category, Colin Mathieson (Sherbrooke, QC) finished in 15.15 and didn’t qualify for the semifinal. The fastest racer of the round Leo-Pekka Tahti, from Finland, set a new world record of 13.76.

In the T11 men’s 400m semifinal, Jon Dunkerley (Ottawa, ON) and his guide Sean Young (Ottawa, ON) finished in 54.27, which wasn’t fast enough for them to qualify for the final.

“We are very happy with where we stand. We ran faster than yesterday so that’s a good sign,” said the younger Dunkerley.

Fencing

Pierre Mainville (Saint-Colomban, QC) won four out of his five matches in the men’s individual category B epee preliminary competition today. He lost against Marc-André Cratère, of France, known for his long arms.

In the round of 16, he fought against Daoliang Hu from China and lost 15-8.

“I am just so happy to be here and to compete with some of the greatest in fencing. I am focused on giving my best performance, but also on enjoying my time and learning,” said Mainville.

“He went further than what we originally thought so we are happy about it. The epee is not his strength, he usually performs better at sabre and we are looking foward to this competition,” said fencing team leader Patrice Duclos.

Mainville competes in the saber competition on Wednesday.

Swimming

Valerie Grand’Maison won a silver medal and Benoit Huot swam to bronze on the last day of swimming competition at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Grand’Maison (Montreal, QC) picked up her silver medal in a Canadian record time of 27.88 in the women’s 50m freestyle in the S13 category.

“I swam a personal best, but I wanted to go faster. Overall these Games have been amazing for me,” said Grand’Maison. “They have helped me gain a lot of experience and I will go back to training (to become) a stronger swimmer, physically and mentally.”

Huot (Montreal, QC) was third in the S10 men’s 400m freestyle in 4:12.14.

“I am very happy with that race. I got another best time and I’m feeling so much better,” said Huot. “I am sad that I’m finally feeling better and the Games are over. But that’s life, it happens. I am heading back home with a hunger to work harder and catch those world records.”

Also in the S13 women’s 50m freestyle final, Kirby Cote (Winnipeg, MB) was fourth in a time of 28.08 and Chelsey Gotell (Hamilton ON) was sixth in 28.26.

Not advancing from the morning preliminaries was Brian Hill, of Montreal, who was 17th in 26.84 seconds in the S13 men’s 50m freestyle.

Wheelchair basketball

Canada secured fifth place at the 2008 Paralympic Games with a 61-32 thumping of the Netherlands on Monday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Canada’s tight defence held the Netherlands’ scoring to 10 points in the second half.

“We came out a little tentative,” said Lisa Franks (Saskatoon, SK). “We came out (in the second half) with more determination on defence and offence and more teamwork than we’ve done throughout the tournament. It’s unfortunate that it took us here, playing for fifth, to be able to bring that together.”

Guard Sabrina Pettinicchi (Charters Settlement, NB) was game’s high scorer with 14 points.

The Netherlands nearly matched Canada in rebounds and steals, but they hit fewer than half of the three pointers and two-point shots that Canada did. Canada had 43 rebounds and the Netherlands 38, while Canada had 10 steals and its opponent 8.

“When you are in fifth place and you beat the sixth place team by double, that’s got to tell you something,” said coach Tim Frick. “We were just a few points short of an entirely different outcome, and that’s how sport works.”

Wheelchair rugby

The Canadian wheelchair rugby team was in control of the ball and ready to score as the clock was winding down on the first period of overtime, but a bad turnover allowed Australia to take a 41-40 lead.
The loss means that Canada will be playing England for the bronze medal tomorrow, while Australia takes on the United States for gold.

Despite the loss, Canada played a good game. But it was Australian counterattacks led by Riley Batt that was the nemesis of Canadian coach Benoit Labrecque. Batt had 23 goals.

Canada was out in front until the middle of the third quarter when the Australians tied it at 21-21.
Down 37-36 at the end of the last quarter, Canada had possession of the ball but forced overtime, by delaying its scoring until there were just 6.2 seconds left on the clock. With the score tied, Australia didn’t have enough time to score again before the buzzer.

In overtime, when Australia got the ball on the turnover, the team used the same strategy – waiting to score until there were less than ten seconds left and Canada did not have time to tie it up and force a second period of overtime.
Fabien Lavoie (Quebec City, QC) and Mike Whitehead (Harrow, ON) were Canada’s high scorers, with 13 goals each.
“Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose – that’s sport. We knew the game was going to be close. To miss the final by so little is difficult to accept,” said veteran team member Daniel Paradis (Quebec City, QC). “It’s a team loss, and we started thinking immediately about the next game and getting the bronze. We’re going to be pumped for a victory against Great Britain.”