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September 5th 2006, ASSEN, The Netherlands - Jason Dunkerley of Hamilton won Canada’s first gold medal at the world track and field championships for athletes with a disability on Tuesday taking the men’s 1,500 metres for the visually impaired.
Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal added silver in the women’s wheelchair 100-metres. After three days of competition, Canada has six medals (one gold, three silver and two bronze).
In the men’s 1,500 for visually impaired, Dunkerley and his guide Greg Dailey kept patient and clear of trouble in a tactical race to win in 4:22.18. It was a great comeback for Dunkerley who was hit by a car while out for a run in Ottawa with a friend last November. He suffered a hairline fracture to his fibula bone and tore ligaments in a knee. He underwent arthroscopic surgery this past May for the knee.
‘’It feels fantastic to get the win,’’ said Dunkerley, 29, the Paralympic Games silver medallist in 2004. ‘’A lot of guys were getting boxed in but we managed to stay away from that. We waited until the last 300 metres before making our move. This was the kind of race we were hoping for.’’
Dailey wasn’t surprised with the win.
‘’We came here with the objective to win a medal,’’ said Dailey. ‘’But his recent training and his performance in the heats showed there was a realistic chance he could win the race.’’
In the women’s wheelchair 100 for paraplegics, Tatianna McFadden of the U.S., broke the world record for the gold medal clocking 16.31 seconds. Petitclerc, a quintuple Paralympic champion in 2004, was second in the eight-woman final clocking 16.93.
Petitclerc missed two months of training this year due to an illness and she said it showed on Tuesday.
‘’Under the circumstances I should be satisfied but I’m obviously disappointed,’’ said Petitclerc. ‘’I don’t come to these events to finish in second place. I’m racing at 90 percent of my fitness capacity and that’s not enough at an event like this.’’
Petitclerc also advanced to the final in the women’s 800 winning her semifinal heat in 2:00.16. Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., also won her heat to advance clocking 1:58.17. Tracey Ferguson of Toronto was eliminated.
‘’What’s going to be important for me is not to get stressed because I still have three other races,’’ said Petitclerc. ‘’I have to continue to be aggressive and be positive.’’
Other Canadian finalists Tuesday were: Jacques Martin of Sherbrooke, Que., fourth in the men’s wheelchair javelin; Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., fifth in a men’s wheelchair 400; Stefanie Reid of Thornhill, Ont., and Andrea Holmes of West Vancouver sixth and seventh in the women’s long jump for amputees; Courtney Knight of Burnaby, B.C., Canada’s flag bearer in Saturday’s opening ceremonies, seventh in the women’s long jump for the visually impaired and Mark Ledo of Maple, Ont., 11th in the men’s wheelchair 10,000.
In the men’s wheelchair 800 for quadriplegics semi-finals, André Beaudoin of Montreal and Dean Bergeron of Quebec City both advanced to finals placing third and fourth in their respective heats.
Carl Marquis of Sherbooke, Que., and Josh Cassidy of Port Elgin, Ont., were eliminated in the men’s wheelchair 1,500 for paraplegics semi-finals.
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