Canada’s Jesse Zesseu captures discus silver in Paralympic debut
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Canada’s Jesse Zesseu won silver in his Paralympic debut on Friday in the men’s discus F37 final at the Paris Games.
The 25-year-old earned Canada’s 21st medal and seventh silver in Paris after beating the reigning Paralympic champion for second place.
Zesseu, from Toronto, finished behind Uzbekistan’s Tolibboy Yuldashev after launching his sixth and final throw 53.24 metres.
Zesseu’s third throw of 52.81m was ultimately enough to secure the silver medal, as Pakistan’s Ali Haider fell 0.7 metres short of the mark on his last chance to defend his title.
“Everything in the last three years since I started Para sport was to do this. I have no words, it’s just incredible,” Zesseu said.
WATCH | Toronto’s Zesseu secures discus silver:
Toronto’s Jesse Zesseu won silver in his Paralympic debut in the men’s discus F37 final at the Paris Games.
Yuldashev, who also won shot put bronze in Paris, closed out Friday’s final with a personal-best throw of 57.28m, but he had already assured himself the gold medal on his penultimate attempt (56.03m).
Zesseu was born with cerebral palsy after suffering a stroke at birth.
Zesseu came to Para sport as an adult. He says he was working for Cerebral Palsy Ontario when he was told he should investigate his eligibility to pursue Paralympic sport.
“It’s just the beginning,” Zesseu said. “These are my first Paralympic Games. I didn’t know what Para sport was three years ago. I am 25, I am young, I know I have a long way to go, especially in throwing.
“Other guys are 20 years older and are still going. I am excited about the future. Right now I am living the present and enjoy this.”
WATCH | Zesseu reflects on 1st career Paralympic medal:
Jesse Zesseu of Toronto claimed the silver medal at his first Paralympics in the men’s discus F37 final in Paris.
The medal means Canada has now matched its medal total from the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Zesseu says his first reaction after reaching the podium was a sense relief, as he struggled in his world-championship debut last summer in the French capital.
He cried a different kind of tears on Friday.
“I was here last year in exactly the same city, Paris, at the Stade Charléty and I triple faulted. It was the worst moment in my life and I cried.
“I cried again now in Paris but for a different reason, a good reason.
He won silver in his multi-sport Games debut at the 2023 Parapan American Games last November in Santiago, Chile.
Canadian swimmer Massabie sets Paralympic record
Canada continued to shine in the pool at Paris La Défense Arena on Day 9, as Sebastian Massabie swam to a Paralympic record in the men’s 50m freestyle S4 qualifying heats.
Massabie touched the wall in 36.95 seconds, finishing just 0.7 seconds away from the world record held by reigning champion Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel.
The 19-year-old Paralympic rookie from Toronto will race for gold at 1:40 p.m. ET, with live coverage on CBC Gem, the Paris 2024 website and the Paris 2024 mobile app.
Mary Jibb, a first-time Paralympian from Muskoka, Ont., placed eighth in the women’s 100m butterfly S9 final with a time of 1:13:60.
The 17-year-old’s best finish in Paris is fifth place in the 100m backstroke.
Three other Canadians already featured in swimming finals on Friday.
In the women’s S10 100m backstroke, Paris medallists Katie Cosgriffe and Aurélie Rivard placed fifth and eighth, respectively.
With a time of 1:09.56, the 18-year-old Cosgriffe nearly reached her second podium at her debut Games, falling just 0.12 seconds short of French bronze medallist Emeline Pierre. Hungary’s Bianka Pap soared to gold in 1:07.97, while American Alexandra Truwit claimed bronze in 1:08.59.
Cosgriffe, from Burlington, Ont., claimed bronze in the 100m butterfly on Tuesday.
Rivard, swimming her final race of these Games after already capturing a medal of each colour, was last to touch the wall in 1:11.05. She’ll leave Paris with 13 career Paralympic medals.
Alec Elliot of Kitchener, Ont., placed seventh in the men’s S10 100m backstroke with his time of 1:04.85.
Canada’s Hennessy directly qualifies for final
Canadian Para canoeist Brianna Hennessy looks poised to make her first appearance on a Paralympic podium.
Hennessy won her heat in the women’s VL2 200m va’a singles event with the second-fastest overall time on the day at Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium. Her mark of 1:02.64 was only bested by defending champion Emma Wiggs of Great Britain (1:00.95).
Hennessy took silver in the event at the last three world championships.
The 39-year-old from Ottawa will also compete in the semifinals of the KL1 200m kayak singles on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET, finishing fourth in her heat (59.02).
Fellow Canadians Erica Scarff and Mathieu St-Pierre — competing in the women’s VL3 and men’s VL2 va’a 200m singles — are also semifinal-bound after finishing third and fourth in their heats, respectively.
Hennessy has also represented Canada in wheelchair rugby. She was a member of Canada’s historic women’s wheelchair rugby team that placed third at the 2023 Women’s Cup in France — the first all-female international wheelchair rugby tournament.
Other Canadian results:
- Paris bronze medallist Austin Smeenk reached the final of the men’s 800m T34 wheelchair racing event by finishing second in his qualifying heat. Smeenk holds the world record in the distance (1:35.59).
- Fellow wheelchair racer Anthony Bouchard finished 5th in the men’s 100m T52 final.
- Keely Shaw finished 15th in the women’s C4-5 road cycling race, posting a time of 2:09:28 on the 71.0-kilometre course.
- Wheelchair fencer Ryan Rousell lost to Ukrainian Artem Manko in his men’s epée Category A Table of 32 match.
- Trinity Lowthian fell to Ukraine’s Olena Fedota-Isaieva in the women’s epée Category A Table of 16. Lowthian went on to win her first two repechage-round bouts against South Korea’s Cho Eun Hye and Italy’s Rossana Pasquino, but she later lost narrowly to China’s Tong Nga Ting.
