August 31, 2012
LONDON – Team USA added five more medals its count on day two of competition at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, bringing its total medal count to 11.
Archery
Four years ago in Beijing, American archer and Army veteran Russell Wolfe (Widnoon, Pa.) competed in his first Paralympic Games. He finished 29th in his division and knew he wanted to
improve on that performance. On Friday morning under chilly conditions at the Royal Artillery Barracks, he did just that. Unfortunately for Wolfe, the afternoon match did not go as planned as he struggled with his form. The result was a 6-0 loss to Pellegrin, one of the favorites to medal in this event.
Cycling
Team USA’s Joe Berenyi set a new world record on his way to winning the gold medal
in the men’s individual C3 Pursuit at the velodrome on Friday. After a hiccup at the starting line due to a mechanical issue, Berenyi (Aurora, Ill.) was issued a restart and proved his mental toughness by finish atop the podium with a time of 3:36.148. He set the world record earlier in the day during his qualification round.
Equestrian
Donna Ponessa (New Windsor, N.Y.) piloted Wes Dunham's Western Rose to a score of
70.235% in front of the Ground Jury of Kjell Myhre, Sarah Rodger, Gudrun
Hofinga, Freddy Leyman and Anne Prain.
Riding in Grade 1a competition, Ponessa produced a steady, rhythmic test with the 9-year-old
Oldenburg mare to earn fifth place.
Rowing
Kicking off racing for the U.S. was single sculler Ron Harvey (Downingtown, Pa.), a
nine-time national team veteran and two-time Paralympian, Harvey lined up with Great Britain’s Beijing Paralympic champion Tom Aggar, who has been unbeaten since his 2007 world championship debut, and didn’t disappoint his roaring home crowd in the grandstands today.
Aggar won the heat with open water in a 4:56.65, with Korea’s Jun-Ha Park and Brazil’s Luciano Luna de Oliveira going two-three. Harvey finished fourth in a 5:05.45.
U.S. trunk and arms mixed double sculls teammates Oksana Masters (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Marine Corps veteran Rob Jones (Lovettsville,Va.), needed to win in order to advance to the
final and avoid the repechage. Instead, they finished second to defending Beijing Paralympic champion China, who set a new Paralympic and world best time of 3:54.92.
The U.S. duo will now need a top two finish in Saturday’s repechage in order to qualify for the final. France’s Stephane Tardieu and Perle Bouge advanced to the final from the first heat with a winning time of four minutes flat.
Swimming
Swimmers Jessica Long and Navy Lt. Brad Snyder were golden Friday at the Aquatic Center.
Team USA claimed three swimming medals on the second day of competition, with Long’s world record breaking swim in the 400-meter freestyle (S8), Snyder’s first Paralympic gold in the 100m freestyle (S11) and Elizabeth Stone’s bronze in the 100m backstroke (S9).
Sitting Volleyball
It was a tough start to the London 2012 Paralympic Games for the U.S. Paralympic Women's
Sitting Volleyball Team. Team USA, the defending Paralympic Games silver
medalists, took on China, the reigning Paralympic Games gold medalists. Team
USA won the first set, marking the first time the U.S. has beaten China’s best,
and won eight of the first 10 points in the second set. But the Americans
ultimately fell 3-1, beginning competition at 0-1.
View highlights here:
http://youtu.be/xQ58x4qFCSE
The U.S. will continue preliminary pool-play action on Saturday against Slovenia.
Track & Field
Two-time U.S. Paralympian Scot Severn (Unionville, Mich.), a U.S. Army veteran, won a London 2012 Paralympic Games bronze medal in the men's shot put (F52/53) on Aug. 31. He threw 8.26 meters for a score of 884, edging out the fourth place finisher Ales Kisy of the Czech Republic by six points and .03 meters.Two-time U.S. Paralympian Scot Severn, a U.S. Army veteran, won a London 2012 Paralympic Games bronze medal in the men's shot put (F52/53) on Aug. 31. He threw 8.26 meters for a score of 884, edging out the fourth place finisher finisher Ales Kisy of the Czech Republic by six points and .03 meters.
Women’s Wheelchair Basketball
The U.S. Paralympic Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team dropped its second game of the preliminary rounds to Germany Friday at the Olympic Park Basketball Arena. The final score of the closely contested game was 54-48. At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the two teams
played for the gold medal.
Go Team USA!