On the eighth day of the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, India, Anthony Bouchard, a wheelchair racer from Canada, claimed the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter T52 event. Bouchard, aged 32, showed an impressive performance by finishing the race in 16.95 seconds. The newly crowned world champion mentioned that he stuck to his race plan, maintaining focus and shutting out distractions during the final.
Bouchard set a new season’s best, personal best, and World Para Athletics Championships record time of 16.78 seconds in the morning session to secure his spot in the final. Despite facing challenges like heat and air pollution in the competition environment, he expressed his satisfaction with his performance.
In a different event, Austin Smeenk, another wheelchair racer, advanced to the men’s 800-meter T34 final comfortably by winning his heat with a time of 1:41.45. Smeenk, the defending Paralympic champion and current world record holder in the event, is aiming for his second medal at this year’s world championships. He had previously clinched a bronze in the men’s 400-meter T34 final.
Looking ahead to the final day of the championships, seven Canadian athletes will be competing to add to the country’s medal tally. The duo of Sheriauna Haase and Chloe Dunbar will participate in the 200-meter race, while Renee Foessel will represent Canada in the women’s F38 discus final. Nate Tucker and Liam Stanley will be part of the men’s T38 1500 meters final, and Marissa Papaconstantinou will compete in the women’s 200-meter T64 event after securing a bronze in the 100-meter race earlier in the week.
