Canada going for wheelchair gold

30 July 2002

Canada’s Chantal Petitclerc will start as a strong favourite in the women’s EAD 800m wheelchair event after winning her qualifying heat comfortably.

Louise Sauvage on track to qualify

The ten time Paralympic medallist was less than a second away from beating the world record in the event’s Commonwealth debut with a time of 1:51.14.

Australia’s Eliza Stankovic could prove to be Petitclerc’s strongest challenger after she finished just over two seconds behind her in the semi-final.

In the other heat Wales’ Tanni Grey-Thompson booked her place in the final finishing second with a time of 2:05.53, but she struggled to compete with Australia’s Louise Sauvage who cruised to victory with a time of 1:56.73.

Grey-Thompson, who is still on the come back trail after becoming a mother five months ago admitted her performance left room for improvement: “I need to be a little stronger on the start, just to be competitive.”

Kenya’s Teresia Nganga got the biggest applause of the morning from the crowd at the packed City of Manchester Stadium. She was roared home after trailing nearly a minute behind the other competitors.