PARIS — Italian fencing star Bebe Vio had to be content with the bronze medal at the Paralympic Games on Wednesday after China’s Xiao Rong ended her dream of a third consecutive gold in wheelchair fencing.
Vio cried after losing 15-9 to Xiao in the semifinals, then again after beating another Chinese fencer, Su Kang, 15-7 in their repechage round 4 bout to reach the bronze medal decider in women’s foil category B.
But Vio screamed with delight after beating Cho Eun Hye of South Korea 15-2 in the bout for bronze. She stood on chairs using her prosthetic legs to celebrate with Italian flag-waving supporters in the stands. Her fans had sung “We love you Bebe” at the Grand Palais as she surged into a comfortable lead.
“Of course, you can not be happy with the bronze,” the 27-year-old Vio said of her defeat to Xiao. “But she was better than me mentally, physically. She deserved the win. Still, I’m so proud about my result today. I still have to compete in the team’s event tomorrow. Losing a medal doesn’t mean that you lose all of them.”
Category B is for fencers who have a disability that prevents voluntary movement of their trunk. Vio contracted meningitis when she was 11 years old. Doctors were able to save her life but had to amputate all four of her limbs to do so.
Xiao, who won the bronze at the last Games in Tokyo, went on to lose the gold medal bout 15-11 to Saysunee Jana of Thailand.
PHOTOS: Italian fencing star Bebe Vio settles for bronze at Paralympic Games
Oksana Masters claimed another gold medal at a Paralympics earlier by defending her title in para cycling’s H4-5 individual time trial.
The American multi-sport specialist clocked 23 minutes, 45.20 seconds to finish 6.24 seconds ahead of Chantal Haenen of the Netherlands and a whopping 1 minute, 27.87 seconds ahead of China’s Sun Bianbian.
It takes Masters’ career total to eight golds - and 18 medals overall - from both summer and winter Games.
“This is definitely one of my favorites. I mean, defending time trial Paralympic champion in cycling. I never saw this coming at all. In Paris, too,” she said. “This is just the home of cycling, the most picturesque place to do this.”
Masters will also compete in a H5 road race as defending champion on Thursday, before she wraps up her Paris Games in the mixed H1-5 team relay on Saturday.
Masters was born in 1989 near Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, and has birth defects believed to be from the aftermath of the disaster.
She was adopted by an American mother when she was a child. She had her left leg amputated near the knee at 9 and the right one at the same spot five years later.
Britain’s Sarah Storey extended her own record to 18 Paralympic gold medals in the C5 individual time trial.
Tatyana McFadden, one of the most decorated U.S. Paralympians, settled for silver in the T54 100 final after finishing behind Belgium’s Lea Bayekula, who set a Paralympic record by winning in 15.5 seconds.
It’s McFadden’s third silver in the event and her 21st medal overall. She still holds the world record of 15.35 set in Indianapolis in 2016.
The T54 category is for competitors with spinal cord injuries who use wheelchairs to race and have no leg function along with normal hand and arm function.
Noelle Malkamaki of the U.S. set a world record in women’s shot put F46 by throwing a distance of 14.06 meters, and Iran’s Saeid Afrooz beat his own world record by throwing a distance of 41.16 meters to take gold in the men’s javelin F43.
Also at Stade de France, Tunisia’s Raoua Tlili won her third consecutive gold medal in women’s discus F41, and Canada’s Greg Stewart won gold in the men’s shot put F46.
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