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Americans fall short

Volleyball, basketball teams play for bronze

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By Luba Vangelova, Special to CNNSI.com

Quite a few American Paralympians will be going to bed tonight thinking of what might have been.

It went down to the buzzer, but the proverbial cigar was just out of reach for the American wheelchair basketball team, which fell to the Netherlands in this evening's second semifinal. (Canada beat Great Britain in the first match-up).

Though it trailed by more than 10 points for much of the game, the U.S. went on a 22-10 scoring run in the second half and whittled the lead down to three. Two missed Dutch free throws gave the U.S. a last opportunity to tie the game, but Larry Johnson's three-point attempt fell short. The rebound led to a basket by Jeff Glassbrenner with one second remaining, but his two points just weren't enough. The clock ran out with the final score reading 63-62.

Saturday will see the Dutch playing Canada for the gold medal and the U.S. playing Great Britain for the bronze.

The American standing volleyball team also lost a close semifinal contest, falling to Canada in five sets. The U.S. will play Slovakia for the bronze tomorrow.

Also falling just short today were American wheelchair tennis players Stephen Welch and Scott Douglas, who were narrowly defeated in their semifinal match by Australia's David Hall and David Johnson. Welch will get another shot at Hall in Sunday's men's singles final.

Storylines

The American wheelchair rugby team had better luck against Australia, beating the home team 29-27 in its second preliminary match. The pool competition ends tomorrow. Records continued to fall in the pool. Multiple gold medalists Beatrice Hess of France, Siobhan Paton of Australia and Mayumi Narita of Japan added to their medal hauls. The last two days of swimming will feature full programs and, doubtless, more records.

Athlete of the hour

Australia's Lisa Llorens, an autistic track and field athlete who fancies herself as a cheetah, won her third gold medal today, breaking the world record three times in four long jump attempts. Children have been sending Llorens drawings of cheetahs (an animal that obsesses her to a degree few outsiders can truly understand) ever since she rose to prominence at these Games.

Beauts

American Shea Cowart set a world record in the course of winning today's 100-meter race for single, below-knee amputees; she herself is a double below-knee amputee. She had already won a gold in Monday's 200 meters. Intellectually disabled Australian swimming sensation Siobhan Paton says she hopes her achievements in the pool (five gold medals and nine world records) will prompt her high school classmates to call her something other than "retard."

Busts

Out-of-competition drug testing finally ended, but not without more positive results. Three more powerlifters (from Belarus, Nigeria and Iraq) were expelled from the Games. The Cambodians sent their first-ever Paralympic team to these Games. But it may also be their last for a while. The IPC earlier this week ruled that their sport, standing volleyball, is not played competitively in enough countries and therefore will not be included in the 2004 program. Various countries have since been protesting the decision. American table tennis player Jennifer Johnson was upset in today's individual quarterfinals, losing 2-0 to Slovakia's Andreja Dolinar. Johnson later credited her opponent with a superior mental game.

Gold rush highlights

Athletics - men's and women's 200m and 400m, and other events Women's wheelchair basketball Swimming - men's and women's 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and other events Tennis - women's singles; men's doubles Standing volleyball

On the spot

Thomas Brown is the American sailing team's only remaining (long shot) chance at a medal. Brown is currently in fifth position, after a broken tiller incident in today's race. He will compete in his final 2.4m race tomorrow, in what are expected to be tricky wind conditions.

 

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