(ATR) Paralympic champions Jonnie Peacock and Tatyana McFadden shined in their first medal events of Rio 2016.
Peacock, from Great Britain, repeated his iconic London 2012 feat winning gold in the men’s T44 100m final, while McFadden, from the United States, won silver in the women’s T54 100m. The athletes are seen as two of the biggest stars in the Paralympic sporting world and performed on a day International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven promised "unbelievable action."
"I’ve always said nothing was ever going to top London, but as a sporting achievement Rio was great," Peacock told reporters after his race. "This is the cauldron that is the Paralympic Games it puts pressure on people and brings out that fight or flight spirit. It is easy to get distracted here and it is about keeping your focus and about those little things you have to focus on during the race."
Peacock admitted he was worried about getting distracted before his race. Officials disrupted his usual routine by requiring him to put on his racing prosthetic earlier than he is used to. Four years ago the Olympic stadium crowd chanted Peacock’s name ahead of his race, and in Rio chants were going on in a nearby section for an American javelin thrower.
Rio has been a trying experience for Peacock, as he chose to leave his coach and family back home, to ensure nothing happened to them. He thanked his support system multiple times after his race for helping him reach this moment. Still, he believes Rio could have taken the Paralympic Games more seriously, like London did.
"Here there are obviously long travels, but there is no use of Olympic lanes, which I think was a bit ridiculous in my opinion," Peacock tells Around TThe Rings. "I’ve been told if it rains the whole city comes to a stop, so if that’s the case they need to open the lanes up because that’s ridiculously unfair to all the athletes. You’ll never get London doing that, and that kind of speaks to the Paralympics and the respect we hold for it."
McFadden, whose silver ended her bid to win seven athletics gold medals in Rio, had a much brighter view of the organization for the Games. She said that traveling around the city has been a breeze, "there are people everywhere to help," and there had been no detriments to preparations.
The 100m race was always going to be the most difficult of the seven races in Rio, McFadden admits. Her result in Rio is better than her bronze four years ago in London, and she is ready to stay "relaxed and calm," the rest of the Games.
"This is one of my hardest races because I’m going from the 100 to the marathon," McFadden said post-race. "Well, I had a bad start, but my execution was amazing, and I really just raced with my heart and really took in the emotion from the crowd."
McFadden said her slow start could have been caused by nerves, a lesson she will reminder herself for her other six races. She has a day off tomorrow, which she will use to focus fully on the T54 400m.
"I really enjoy that race, so I am taking it one day at a time and [am trying to] have fun," McFadden said. "I put in all the hard work in training and the hardest part is over."
Day one of the athletics competition also provided some amazing moments. Click here for photos from the track and field events of day one.
Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro
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