PARIS: US cyclist Oksana Masters and British Paralympic great Sarah Storey added to their title hauls in early action on Wednesday as star Italian fencer Bebe Vio began her medal campaign with an easy victory.

Masters, who was born in Ukraine with birth defects believed to be linked to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, including missing thumbs and weight-bearing bones in her legs, claimed the seventh Paralympic gold of her career by winning the H4-5 category. The 35-year-old, who was adopted by an American family, has previously won medals in rowing and in a range of winter sports including cross-country skiing.

Storey, who is competing in her ninth Paralympics at the age of 46, slammed the Paris organizers after winning the 18th gold medal of a career that began in swimming by taking the C5 time trial in the Paris suburbs ahead of French hope Heidi Gaugain.

Born without a functioning left hand, Storey has now won 29 Paralympics medals of all colors since she made her debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

But Storey said the course that measured 14.1 kilometres was “appalling” and said she had never raced on a Games course shorter than 22km.

“This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we have ever had, and I think it’s a real shame because we don’t get to showcase para-sport in the way we want to,” Storey told British media.

“You’ll have to ask organisers. There’s plenty of time in the day for us to do two laps like the men. Having fought so hard for parity in women’s cycling, to not have it is a real disappointment.”

‘Bebe’ starts her bid

Another of the global stars of Paralympism, Beatrice ‘Bebe’ Vio, began her title defence with an easy win in the women’s foil category B quarter-final against Ukrainian Nadiia Doloh. Vio, who uses prosthetic arms after having all four limbs amputated when she contracted meningitis at the age of 11, won 15-2 to progress to the semi-final stage in the ornate surroundings of the Grand Palais.

The 27-year-old, known for her exuberant celebrations when she wins, took gold in the individual foil at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Vio raced into a 7-0 lead before Doloh managed to score a point against her. Jordan’s Omar Qarada was crowned the first Paralympic champion at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena as para powerlifting action at the Paris 2024 kicked off on Wednesday.

In a thrilling contest, Qarada once again stamped his dominance in men’s up to 49kg - defending his Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medal with his best lift of 181kg in the third round. The 43-year-old Jordanian’s effort on the bench was one kilogram above Turkey’s 2022 European champion Abdullah Kayapinar who surprised everyone and stayed in contention until the end - even going for a world record attempt much like Qarada - only to settle for the silver.

Meanwhile, host nation France surpassed the number of gold medals they won three years ago in Tokyo thanks to Alexandre Leaute’s victory in the C2 time trial. That gave France 12 golds, putting them fifth in the medals table.

China were top with 55 golds halfway through Wednesday’s action, with Great Britain second on 31 golds and the USA third with 24. — AFP