China still on top, Djibouti runner touches world

LONDON - Yang Liwan took the gold in the women's shot put - F54/55/56 here on Saturday, lifting China's gold medal tally up to 20 after three days of Paralympic action.

Keeping the momentum, China collected seven gold medals on Saturday, widening its gap with the closest follower Australia from six to nine golds.

China stayed atop the table with 20 gold, 15 silver and 21 bronze medals, followed by Australia with 11-5-13, hosts Britain 9-16-11, Ukraine 9-6-7, Russia 8-9-5, the United States 6-6-10.

China raked in seven golds from swimming, five from track and field, four from cycling-track, two from shooting, and one each from powerlifting and judo.

The most emotional story on Saturday came form the main stadium, which boasts a capacity of 80,000. During the men's 1,500m-T46 heat, Djibouti runner Houssein Omar Hassan injured his foot. But he did not give up. Instead he stumbled across the finish line in 11 minutes and 23.50 seconds.

As the second to last runner crossed the line in 4:30.42, Hassan stumbled to jog on the track for seven minutes.

In a sense, he was lonely as other finishers began to be interviewed by journalists or take a rest. But almost 80,000 spectators in the stadium stood up and clapped hands rhythmically for Hassan as he neared the finish line.

The race was so exhausting that his vest and shorts were all wet. In the mixed zone, Hassan gasped and was too tired to drink the water provided by volunteers.

"Finish, finish," Hassan, who can speak little English, repeated the same word.

This would be the unforgettable seven minutes for Hassan, for Djibouti, for all the people at the scene, and for the Paralympics.