Curtis McGrath has belied his stuttering start in Tokyo to blitz the field in the men’s kayak single 200m KL2 final and defend the gold medal he won in Rio.
A rudder issue had seen McGrath finish third in his heat on Thursday forcing him to qualify for Friday’s final via a semi-final that morning.
But after coolly cruising through the semi-final, recording a Paralympic best time of 41.134, the star Australian was primed to deliver in the final.
McGrath, 33, did just that.
After a hotly contested start, McGrath burst away from the field in the final 100m to claim gold by more than a full second (1.077 seconds), with a time of 41.426.
Ukrainian Mykola Syniuk won silver with Italy’s Federico Mancarella, who challenged McGrath early in the race, claiming bronze.
It means McGrath’s campaign to win two gold medals in Tokyo is very much alive, with his VL3 200m final to come on Saturday.
Meanwhile compatriot Susan Seipel claimed a silver medal in the women’s va’a single 200m VL2, improving on her Rio bronze medal.
Great Britain’s Emma Wiggs won gold by more than four seconds with a time of 57.028 seconds.
Seipel crossed the line second in 1:01.481, holding off Great Britain’s Jeanette Chippington.
AAP
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