Day 3 of the Tokyo Paralympics racing on the track at the Izu Velodrome offered excitement and gritty racing.
Records fell, and experienced and newcomer Paralympians mixed it up on the wooden 250m track.
Normally this sign would be welcomed, but the Paralympics are called the people’s Olympics. Seats are usually much cheaper, and all the local fans can come out to see the Paralympians.
But during the COVID pandemic, photographers can have their pick of thousands of seats.
Former Olympian Rory O’Reilly (1-kilometer time trial in the 1984 Olympic Games) coaches Paralympians on the track for Team USA.
Aaron Kieth, a chiropractor by trade, competed in the C-1 category of the 1 km time trial.
Joe Berenyi of the United States with his custom handlebar, where he can control the bike through the start and in the aero position.
Joe Berenyi, in the starting block for the kilo, is competing in his second Paralympics after winning gold medals in Rio.
Chris Murphy waits for his start along with head coach Sarah Hammer Kroening, herself a multiple world champion and Olympic medalist.
Chris Murphy was a pre-race favorite in the kilometer, but finished just outside the medals.
Spain’s Ricardo Ten Argiles in the 3km pursuit.
Ricardo lost both arms and one leg at the knee due to an electrical fire when he was eight.
With prosthetics for both arms and one leg, he has won world championships on the track and in road races.
Newcomer Mikhail Astashov used a looped handlebar and aerodynamic carbon fiber prosthetics with cleats mounted on the bottom to set a new world record in the kilometer.
Alejandro Perea Arango of Colombia has a prosthetic with a loop at the end on his left arm. He attaches it to the drop bars for the start, then disengages it and hooks it over the tip of the aero bars in the pursuit.
Wangwei Qian of China has to compensate in the corners for only one leg, but still set a new world record in the C-1 women’s 500-meter time trial.
Josef Metelka of Slovakia set yet another world record in the Izu velodrome, riding to the gold medal in the 4km pursuit with a time of 4:22.77.
Kate O’Brien of Canada took second in the women’s 500 meters. =
She holds the Canadian record for the both the able-bodied and paracycling 500 meters.
She was in a training accident in 2017 that left her unable to walk or breathe independently. She eventually recovered and became a paracycling world champion.
The Dutch duo of Larissa Klassen and Imke Brommer celebrate their gold medal in the blind tandem kilometer time trial.