Paralympics 2016: Cyril Charles finishes 14th in Rio |14 September 2016

Charles pictured competing in Rio de Janeiro

Cyril Charles, Seychelles’ only Paralympian competing at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, was in action on Monday and he took 14th place in the men’s javelin F57 event reserved for wheelchair athletes.

Charles threw the javelin a distance of 16.97m to finish 14th position in the event won by Iran’s Mohammad Khalvandi with a best throw of 46.12m. The silver medal went to Abdollah Heidari Til also of Iran with a distance of 43.77m and the bronze was taken by Ngoc Hung Cao of Vietnam who threw the javelin over a distance of 43.27m.

Athletics was one of the eight sports featured in the first Paralympic Games held in Rome in 1960 in which athletes competed in a total of 25 medal events. Since then, it has been part of all the Games and is currently the largest discipline in the Paralympic programme.

At the ongoing Games in Rio, 1,100 athletes are competing in 177 track, field and road events over an 11-day period. People with an impairment in over 120 countries worldwide currently practise athletics.

The programme is similar to that of the Olympic Games. On the track, athletes run distances ranging from 100 to 5,000 metres. Field events include jumping and throwing competitions. There is also the marathon, which will take place on the streets of Rio. There are competitions for the visually, intellectually and physically impaired – each with functional classifications to ensure equality among competitors. On account of the athletes' classifications, competition names are followed by a code (letter + number). The letter used for a track competition is T (from the English word track). The letter F is used for field or jump events (from the English word field). The numbering indicates the athlete’s degree of impairment: 11 to 13 – visual impairment, 20 – intellectual impairment,  31 to 34 – cerebral palsy seated, 35 to 38 – cerebral palsy standing,  40 – dwarfism,  41 to 47 – amputees and others,  51 to 57 – wheelchair athletes (effects of polio, spinal cord injuries and amputations).

Charles was the first Seychellois athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona and is the only local athlete to make two appearances at these Games.

Meanwhile, the Paralympic Games are in its seventh day and it is China who is leading the medals table with a total of 118 medals – 50 gold, 40 silver and 28 bronze medals.

The cases for the medals of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have been designed in the shape of seeds, symbolising the courage, perseverance and development of Paralympic athletes. The seeds form an infinite rising spiral, representing the energy and continuous growth of the competitors. The cases and the spiral have been inspired by the Paralympic motto “Spirit in motion”.

The Paralympic medals all contain a surprising sensory innovation. It is now traditional for medal-winning athletes to kiss and bite their new treasured possessions.

At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, there will be another ritual to follow. Each medal contains a tiny rattle that will jingle when shaken, providing a new way for Paralympic athletes to celebrate their success. The gold, silver and bronze medals all produce different sounds.

The following are the top five countries in the medals’ table so far:

           Countries                  Gold               Silver             Bronze          Total

1          China                        50                   40                   28                   118

2          Great Britain             28                   16                   19                   63

3          Ukraine                     22                   19                   20                   61

4          United States           16                   17                   13                   46

5          Brazil                        9                     17                   9                     35