Mexico's Paralympic athlete Esther Rivera Robles broke the world record in the women's javelin throw at the Parapan American Games, in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
Robles' throw reached 11.87 meters, scoring 1,043 points, and established a new mark in the F33, F34, F52 and F53 classes, designed for wheelchair users with different degrees of cerebral palsy.
"I am very proud of this result. It is very rewarding to compete in an event like this," said the thrower, who won the gold and classified for the Beijing Paralympics, in Sept. 2008.
The silver medal went to Estela Salas, also from Mexico, whose javelin hit the 11.31 meters. Brazil's Sonia Gouveia got the bronze with a distance of 8.22 meters, the first medal won for the hosts in the Parapan Rio-2007, which started on Sunday with an opening ceremony held at Rio's Multipurpose Sports Arena.
In the men's shot put, Argentina monopolized the podium of the F11, F12 and F13 classes, which include athletes with visual impairment. Sebastian Baldasarri (11.97 meters), Sergio Paz (10.09 meters) and Jorge Godoy (9.79 meters) won the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.
In the F40, F42 and F44 classes, designed for wheelchair users with different types of disabilities, US Scott Danberg's shot put reached 10.07 meters, totaling 1,011 points, and broke the Parapan Am record. Cuba's Gerdan Fonseca Bernal got the silver and American Matthew Brown the bronze.
The women's 200m final in the T52 and T53 classes, raced by wheelchair users with different levels of spinal cord injury and amputations, was also contested on Monday. US Anjalli Forber-Pratt finished first in 34.59 seconds, followed by compatriot Margaret Roden and Mexico's Evelyn Cervantes.
The athletics competitions take place at the Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium, especially built for the Pan and Parapan Am Games.
Source: Xinhua
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