“When I went to sprint on the last turn, I thought all the racers were right behind me, but I ended up having a good advance,” she said. “I’ve trained very hard to make sure I got here well prepare both physically and mentally. My best memory of these Games will definitely be winning the 100m because I worked so hard to catch up and finish first.”

She continued, “When I got back to the Village, the whole Chinese athletic team was waiting for me at the Village gate with security members, all aligned, and they all congratulated me. It really meant a lot to me and it was so unexpected.”

Petitclerc said she “ feel like it is now time to stop and see where I want to go and what I want to do next.”

She expressed an interest in competing in road races for a new challenge.

After spraying Petitclerc with Chinese champagne, her coach Peter Eriksson said : “It was an incredible competition. She executed the tactics perfectly and achieved what we were hoping for after four years of focus and planning. She will be remembered as one of the best athletes in Canadian history, Paralympic and Olympic combined.”

In the same event, Diane Roy (Hatley, QC) finished last in a time 3:43.66. She had a good race, and led the pack for almost the whole race, but was overtaken and could not keep pace on the last turn.

Roy will be competing in her last race at these Games – the marathon tomorrow.

In other final action, Beijing Paralympic Games double gold medallist Dean Bergeron (St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC) finished sixth in 2:02.01 in the men’s 800m in the T52 category.

“My race didn’t turn out the way I had hope. My strategy wasn’t efficient enough for this race. You never know how it turns out, it’s always unpredictable,” said Dean after his race. “I am happy about my performance at these Games, especially in the 100m, 200m and 400m. My best race is the 100m and winning the gold that day is my best memory. I can say mission accomplished!”

In the same event, André Beaudoin (Montreal, QC) finished in seventh place in 2:08.54.

“I am very proud and happy about my performance at the Games. I fulfilled my goal to bring back another medal and keep the world record in the 100m. The most important is that I had fun being here, bringing back a bronze medal is like the icing on the cake,” noted Bergeron.

Also in the finals, Brent Lakatos (Montreal, QC) finished sixth in a time of 15.21. He had a very good start, but couldn’t keep up at the end of a tight race.

In round one of the T53 men’s 100m, Brent Lakatos (Montreal, QC) finished third overall and qualified for the final with a time of 15.26.

Eric Gauthier (St-Faustin Lac-Carré, QC) had a good start but experienced a technical problem and did not qualify for the final. He finished in a time of 18.19.

Wheelchair rugby

Canada rebounded from its overtime loss to Australia Monday to beat Great Britain 47-41today for the bronze medal.
The Canadians, the silver medalists from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, and the British exchanged points throughout the first half that ended 23-20 in Canada’s favour. It was in the last half of the third quarter that Canada padded its lead with two additional consecutive goals for a five-goal cushion.

In the fourth quarter, the Brits appeared short of breath and what made the difference in the game was the endurance of the Canadians.

“I had a terrible game in the semi-final and my team-mates didn’t reproach me when we were knocked out of the final,” said Michael Whitehead (Harrow, ON). Whitehead was the best player for Canada today, scoring 14 goals in the game.
“I had to give my best and go get the bronze. Before the game, Daniel Paradis (Quebec City, QC) told us it would likely be his last game, so we wanted to get the bronze for him,” he added.

The highest scorer for Canada since the beginning of the tournament, Fabien Lavoie (Quebec City, QC) had 11 goals. Ian Chang (Surrey, BC) registered eight goals.

Wheelchair basketball

The Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team lost 72-60 in the final, ending its hopes of a third consecutive Paralympic gold. Canada goes home with the silver.

Australia came out strong leading 10-5 in the first five minutes. Canada fought back as Jaimie Borisoff (Vancouver, BC) scored Canada’s first two points, followed by a three-point toss from Patrick Anderson (Vancouver, BC). David Eng (Montreal, QC) put Canada in the lead with a three-point shot to give Canada the lead. The first quarter ended 17-16.

The second quarter saw Canada pick up on the defence and take the lead to finish the half 32-28.

Australia responded with great team defence, putting pressure on Canada's top scorers. Australia scored 26 points in the third quarter and took a 54-47 lead.

The final ten minutes of the game saw the Canadians fight to close the gap. Anderson hit two consecutive free throws followed by two baskets (six points), bringing the score to 56-54 for the Australians. Strong defensive by the Australians and missed shots by the Canadians allowed Canada to add only six points to the scoreboard in the final quarter, while Australia banked 12 to take the game.

“The Paralympics are a great test of a team. You can’t win it in one day. You have to put out over the course of ten days, and Australia did it better than any other (team),” said Canadian team head coach Mike Frogley. “We just took it one game at a time. If you look at the length of the tournament, it can be taxing mentally. You take each game and break it into quarters and you win one quarter at a time. Australia won the last two quarters. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew we had to play well. We didn't quite measure up."

High scorers were Patrick Anderson with 22 points, Joey Johnson with 12 points, Richard Peter with 11 points and Chris Stoutenberg with six points. Canada hit 54% from the line (13/24), scored 40% in two-point shots and had 35 rebounds.

Anderson and Johnson had 12 rebounds apiece. The Australians shot a remarkable 77% from the foul line sinking 20 of 26.