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Dream shot

U.S. basketball team wins bronze on miracle shot

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The U.S. basketball team celebrate their bronze medal win against Great Britain during the Paralympic Games. Jamie Squire/Allsport

By Luba Vangelova, Special to CNNSI.com

It was the kind of shot that basketball players dream of making, even just once in their careers. The score in the men's bronze medal match between Great Britain and the United States was 54 all, with 24 seconds left on the clock. The British team headed downcourt and set up a shot from inside the lane. The crowd drew a collective breath, then exhaled when the shot missed and American Will Waller grabbed the rebound. It seemed assured that for the second time in this tournament, a Britain-USA game would go into overtime.

Then the USA's Paul Schulte dribbled down the court, paused 25 feet away from the basket, and with one second left on the clock, threw up a Hail Mary. And it hit nothing but net. The elated American bench rushed onto the court, and within seconds, a corner of the backcourt was obscured by a pile of wheelchairs and tumbling bodies as the players struggled to embrace.

Never mind that the team hadn't made it to the final. "That bronze is as good as gold in my heart," the 21-year-old Schulte, who hails from the tiny burg of Manchester, Michigan, said after the match.

After that barnburner, the gold medal game between the Netherlands and Canada proved anticlimactic. The Canadians rolled over the Dutch, 57-43, then celebrated by hoisting one of their double-leg-amputee players through the hoop. He sat astride the rim as some staffers cut down the net.

American wheelchair tennis player Stephen Welch, who Friday won the bronze in the doubles, Saturday did one better in the singles. He captured the silver medal by dropping a close three-set match (6-7, 6-4, 6-2) to the number one seed, Australian David Hall, who won the gold. The baseline rallies were so protracted that Welch at one point had to pause to have his wheelchair re-oiled. Meanwhile, the Dutch were the tennis stars of these Paralympics, as they were in Atlanta. Here, they swept the women's singles medals and also won the gold in the men's and women's doubles.

Storylines

The wheelchair rugby semifinals turned into regional contests. First the Americans beat the Canadians, 40-35. Then Australia beat New Zealand, 40-39. The final will be played tomorrow afternoon. The final day of swimming saw more world records broken. A total of 169 have been broken in the nine days of competition (compared to 108 in Barcelona and 97 in Atlanta). Trischa Zorn was not among the world-record setters, but she did score a bronze in Saturday's 50-meter freestyle, bringing her career medal tally to an incredible 54. It was all green and gold on the medal dais for the women's cerebral palsy 200-meter race, as Australians Lisa McIntosh, Alison Quinn and Katrina Webb came away with gold, silver and bronze, respectively. Teammate Tim Sullivan scored his fifth gold medal of these Games by anchoring the 4x100-meter cerebral palsy relay. He came from 10 meters behind to help the team break a world record. Meanwhile, Louise Sauvage, fresh from her win in the 5,000-meter wheelchair race, announced her decision not to contest tomorrow's marathon. She cited a wrist problem and the fact that this course was not well-suited to her.

Athlete of the hour

Hongwei Zhang of China broke his world record in the triple jump, making him the winner of both horizontal jumping events.

Beauts

The Americans had a good day at the powerlifting venue, with Pernell Cooper and Kim Brownfield capturing gold and silver in the +100kg event. Cooper failed in his first attempt at 235kg, then raised the stakes to 237.5 and succeeded. One of Australia's largest banks has aired commercials featuring John Eales, captain of Australia's world champion rugby team, squaring off against Steve Porter of the wheelchair rugby team. Eales, in a wheelchair for the commercial, is completely outclassed by his Paralympian counterpart. In the end, he wondered aloud, "How does he do it?" It nicely sums up the wonder felt by most able-bodied spectators who watch Paralympics events.

Busts

Defending world and Paralympic champion Christopher Holmes of Great Britain failed to qualify for the final in his vision-impaired 50-meter freestyle event. One nice thing about the Olympics is that, in contrast to most other sporting events, there are no commercial logos inside venues. The Paralympics, however, don't have the same restriction. (To be fair, the commercial signs are still not as obtrusive as at most professional events.)

Gold rush highlights

Athletics - men's marathon (various classes), women's marathon (wheelchair), and field events Football Goalball Wheelchair Rugby

On the spot

American wheelchair racer Jean Driscoll, eight-time Boston Marathon winner and defending gold medalist, comes in as the favorite in Sunday's marathon.

 

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