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The London Paralympics were on track to break an unprecedented number of world records, as the Games hit half-way and sprinter Oscar Pistorius found out he will not face further action for his outburst.
A total of 279 world records were set in Beijing four years ago and in the first half of the Games to yesterday morning, 137 new global bests were set, with a further 81 new Paralympic records, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.
“The fact is our athletes are getting better. They’re training full-time. This is not just a hobby sport. It’s professional sport at its very best,” said IPC spokesman Craig Spence.
In the evening session of athletics at the Olympic Stadium, there were new world bests in the men’s T34 200m for athletes with cerebral palsy in the shape of Tunisian Walid Ktila.
His compatriot Abderrahim Zhiou, silver medallist in the T12 5,000m for blind and visually impaired runners, took more than three seconds off Kiwi Tim Prendergast’s record to win the T13 1,500m race in 3min 48.31sec.
And Abraham Tarbei of Kenya then defended his Beijing 2008 T46 men’s 1,500m title for upper limb amputees in 3min 50.15sec, more than two seconds better than his own world record.
In other stand-out performances, Brazil’s Felipe Gomes and Daniel Silva took gold and silver in the men’s T11 200m but the South Americans were denied a clean sweep as compatriot Lucas Prado was pipped for bronze by Angola’s Jose Sayovo Armando.
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