Kerrie Leonard faced Zhou Jiamin of China in the round of 16 elimination tie of the para-archery W2 individual compound open event. Zhou Jiamin, a gold medallist at Rio, was Leonard’s opponent, who had scored her season’s best 653 points and ranked 21st on the previous day. Unfortunately, Leonard succumbed to defeat with a 140-135 score.
In other sports, Katie O’Brien and Tiarnán O’Donnell participated in heat one of the mixed double sculls PR2 Para Rowing category. We also saw Ellen Keane, a promising medal prospect for Ireland, enter the pool for the SB8 100m Breaststroke heat two at 10.22, with the aim to qualify for the evening’s final – a step towards defending her Paralympic title.
Ronan Grimes geared up for the C4-5 1000m time trial qualifying event in Para Cycling Track at 10.30, followed by Shauna Bocquet who competed at 10.50 in the T54 5000m first round heat two of the Para Athletics.
Later, Josephine Healion, along with pilot Linda Kelly, and Katie George Dunlevy, with pilot Eve McCrystal, participated in the B 1000m time trial qualifying event on the Para Cycling Track. Grimes then competed once more in the finals of his earlier event, as did the aforementioned Para Cycling duo.
Róisín Ní Riain was in the S13 100m backstroke final for Para Swimming at 18.51, and Keane will compete again in her breaststroke final at 19.21.
In addition to swimming and cycling, Irish athletes also showcased their skills in rowing and archery events.
The competition was neck and neck after the third section with Leonard at a score of 82-82, but his Chinese contender showed more prowess, edging into a 111-109 lead post the fourth round before widening the gap in the fifth round, clinching a victory scoring 140-135.
The next event from an Irish perspective concerns para-rowing. The sport sees the return of Ireland with insights provided by Muireann Duffy. Resuming the lapse will be two contenders hailing from the west – Katie O’Brien representing Galway and Tiarnán O’Donnell hailing from Limerick. The pair will participate in the first round of the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls at Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium. The top two performers will directly qualify for the A final scheduled on Sunday.