Golden Thursday for the German Paralympics team: The visually impaired Elena Semechin and Taliso Engel won two gold medals in swimming and each set a world record, while sports shooter Natascha Hiltrop triumphed for the second time with the small-bore rifle. With two more silver and bronze medals each, it was the most successful day so far for the German Disabled Sports Association at the Games in Paris.

Swimming star Semechin showed her class in the 100 meter breaststroke. She outclassed the competition with a new personal best of 1:12.54 minutes. Second-placed Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago finished more than three seconds behind. “I am speechless, overjoyed and relieved,” said the 30-year-old after her gala performance.

For Semechin, it was already the second Paralympic gold after Tokyo 2021. A short time later, Semechin was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After chemotherapy, however, the Kazakh-born athlete quickly regained her old form. “I never thought back then that my coach would turn me, a sporting wreck, into an athlete who could then swim a world record,” said an emotional Semechin.

The 21-year-old Engel was unable to match his world record (1:01.84) from the preliminary round in the final, but finished in 1:01.90 minutes, almost three seconds ahead of the competition. “I’m happy to have defended my gold medal,” said Engel. He also won gold in Tokyo.

There was no sign of weak nerves in sports shooter Natascha Hiltrop. She won her second gold medal at the Summer Games and set a record in the process. No one had ever managed to score 250.2 rings at a Paralympic Games before. “I’m happy, very satisfied and also quite tired,” said the 32-year-old, who has incomplete paraplegia. “It’s a confirmation and just a great feeling.”

She had already been unbeatable in Tokyo, but with the air rifle. At the shooting center in Chateauroux she impressed with the small bore rifle – both in the prone position and in the three-position competition. She only had to tremble once on the way to her third Paralympic gold medal. “One of my shots went clearly to the left in the final,” she said. “So we took a short break, made some adjustments and realigned the weapon. Then we carried on.” She realized that she was on track before the last shot and kept her nerve.

In the clothes of the teammate to the award ceremony

Long jumper Nele Moos was also not discouraged at the Stade de France and surprised everyone with a silver medal thanks to a strong final jump. The 22-year-old from Duisburg, who has paralysis on the right side of her body, landed at 5.13 meters, improving her personal best.

“It’s just crazy,” said Moos about her first jump over the five-meter mark. “I had no idea I had a chance of winning a medal. That’s why I’m not wearing my ceremony clothes, but Markus’s. I just left my clothes at home.” Fellow athlete Markus Rehm had won gold the day before, but only received his medal on Thursday.

The visually impaired athlete Katrin Müller-Rottgardt won bronze in the 100-meter sprint with guide Noel-Philippe Fiener. The 42-year-old reached the finish line in 12.26 seconds.

Unlike Moos, Thomas Schmidberger failed to pull off a surprise in wheelchair table tennis. He suffered his third singles defeat in a row in a Paralympic final, losing 0-3 to the Chinese favorite Feng Panfeng. In Paris, he already won silver in the doubles with Valentin Baus.

Zeyen-Giles with second bronze

In the pouring rain, Annika Zeyen-Giles secured bronze for the second time on the handbike. In the road race, the paraplegic cyclist finished just behind second-placed Dutchwoman Jennette Jansen. In Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb, the 39-year-old needed 56:16.00 minutes for the 28.3-kilometer course. One day earlier, Zeyen-Giles had already finished third in the individual time trial.

The sitting volleyball players still have this chance. However, they clearly lost 0:3 in the semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Germany only really had no chance in the second round (6:25).