Winter Paralympics: Liu Mengtao becomes China’s first Para biathlete to win three medals, as Zhang Mengqiu secures second gold of Games
- China strikes gold on day 4, as Zhang wins women’s giant slalom standing event, while Liu wins men’s individual sitting
- Wu Zhongwei and Sun Qi continue the host’s snowboarding success on home soil after taking gold in men’s banked slalom
Liu Mengtao became the first Chinese Para biathlete to win three medals at a Winter Paralympic Games, after claiming the men’s individual sitting gold on Friday in spectacular fashion.
Having previously taken gold in the middle distance and bronze in the sprint, the Paralympic debutant finished first in the 12.5km race in 38 minutes and 29.4 seconds without missing a single shot in the four rounds of prone shooting.
Liu clinched gold ahead of Ukraine’s Taras Rad by 44.5 seconds. The 22-year-old, who was the gold medallist at the Pyeongchang 2018 Games, settled for silver while 24-year-old Liu Zixu added bronze to his gold medal in the men’s sprint sitting earlier this week.
“The race wasn’t easy,” said Liu, who took up the sport in 2016. “Haven’t you seen my face when I was on the track, twisted and in pain? I mean, it’s 12.5 kilometres. And the snow was pretty slow today.”
On a day that saw China add considerably more medals to its record haul, Chinese skier Zhang Mengqiu won her second gold of the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games after claiming the title in women’s giant slalom standing on Friday.
