Para sport in review: May 2017
Check out what went on in the Paralympic Movement during May. 31 May 2017
Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer of France during their Men's Wheelchair Doubles Semifinals match against Adam Kellerman of Australia and Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands during the Australian Open 2016 Wheelchair Championship.
Beijing World Para Athletics Grand Prix
Chinese athletes showed top form with two months to go until the London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, setting four new world records and winning multiple events on home soil.
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Rieti World Para Athletics Grand Prix
Icelandic thrower Helgi Sveinsson was the star at the event in Italy, breaking the world record in the men’s javelin F42.
Arizona World Para Athletics Grand Prix
US wheelchair Para athlete Cassie Mitchell stood out by breaking a 28-year-old world record in the women’s 1,500m T33/34/51.
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Swiss Para Athletics Nationals
A staggering 19 world and 52 regional records were set at the world-renowned fast Arbon track, between 25-28 May.
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International Canoe Federation World Cup
Rio 2016 canoe silver medallists Edina Muller (women’s KL1) of Germany and Markus Swoboda (men’s KL2) of Austria opened the sport’s season with convincing victories.
Canoe South American Championships
Brazilian Para canoers won five of the six events contested in Paipa, Colombia, on 22 April.
World Para Powerlifting World Cup
Egyptian powerlifters dominated the event in Eger, Hungary, securing multiple wins and cementing themselves as strong candidates ahead of this year’s World Championships in Mexico City.
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UCI Para cycling Road World Cup
• Maniago, Italy
The first World Cup of the year saw the Netherlands and hosts Italy claiming seven wins each to end as the most decorated countries.
• Ostend, Belgium
Dutch and German cyclists secured five wins each at the second World Cup.
International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup
Dimitri Coutya became Great Britain’s first ever senior wheelchair fencing gold with the foil, after defeating France’s Maxime Valet in the men’s foil category B final in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands.
2017 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Para World Team Championships
History was made in Bratislava, Slovakia, as Brazil captured the first Para table tennis world title for a Latin American country.
Para Table Tennis Slovenia Open
Paralympic champion Kelly van Zon wrapped up a successful tournament by winning two golds in the women’s singles and team class 7 events.
Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup
France sealed their eighth men’s title thanks to world No.1 Stephane Houdet and No.5 Nicolas Peifer, whilst Great Britain claimed their fifth quad title.
China stunned the Netherlands to become just the third nation to win the women’s event.Japan Open
Australia’s wheelchair tennis Paralympic champion Dylan Alcott completed a hat-trick of Japan Open titles.
Korea Open
Japan’s wheelchair tennis world No.2 Yui Kamiji won the Korea Open, confirming she will be one-to-beat at Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, in Paris, France, from 8-10 June.
World Para Triathlon World Series
British and US Para triathletes took home three wins each at the second World Series in Yokohama, Japan, on 13 May.
Oceania Para Taekwondo Open
USA’s Evan Medell cause a major upset in Auckland, New Zealand, by taking down Croatia’s top-ranked Ivan Mikulic 24-19 points.
South American Championships
Brazil won the women’s regional wheelchair basketball event following a 67-40 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in the gold-medal match.
South American Rowing Championships
Brazil proved to be the stronger nation, taking gold in all three Para rowing boat classes.
International Blind Football Tournament
The inaugural women’s football 5 competition saw Japan stepping onto the top of the podium.
Para Archery Juan Enrique Barrios Cup
The USA’s men’s compound open team set a new world record by just one point in Manati, Puerto Rico.
2017 Lomianki Para Dance Sport Polish Open
Poland’s European champions Joanna Reda and Pawel Karpinski won both the duo Latin and duo standard class 2 events in front of their home crowd.
Goalball International Competition
The first goalball event to ever take place in Peru was won by Colombia in both the men’s and women’s events.
Mannheim three-star Para equestrian competition
Germany’s Rio 2016 medallist Elke Philipp, riding Fuerst Sinclair, was the star at his home competition in Mannheim, winning both the individual and freestyle grade 1 tests and finishing second in the team event.