Bulgaria’s Ruzhdi Ruzhdi sets shot put world record at World Para Athletics Championships | CBC Sports

The 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris got off to an exciting start on Sunday, headlined by a world record performance and 11 gold medals.

Bulgaria’s Ruzhdi Ruzhdi set a world record in the men’s F55 shot put event, winning his fourth straight world championship with a throw of 12.68 metres at Stade Charléty. The performance surpassed the previous mark of 12.63 set at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics by Brazilian rival Wallace Santos, who bested Ruzhdi for the gold medal that day.

Ruzhdi, a two-time Paralympic medallist, held the record before Santos with his gold-medal throw at the 2017 world championships in London (12.47m).

Santos finished third on Sunday with a throw of 11.87m, while Poland’s Lech Stoltman claimed silver with a personal best (12.27m).

Tillsonburg, Ont., native Charlotte Bolton was the top Canadian shot putter on Day 1, finishing ninth in the women’s F41 event (7.49m). The 20-year-old Paralympian is also competing in the women’s F41 discuss event, with the final scheduled for Friday.

David Bambrick of Wolfville, N.S., was 12th in the men’s F37 event (10.32m), his lone event in Paris.

Paralympic star Raoua Tlili of Tunisia, the reigning Paralympic and world champion, continued her dominance on Sunday with gold in the women’s F41 (10.15m), although she fell short of her 10.33 world championship record set in 2019.

Uzbekistan’s Kubaro Khakimova won the silver medal with an Asian record throw of 9.83m, followed by Tokyo silver medallist Mayerli Buitrago Ariza of Colombia (9.62).

Tlili also holds the world record in the event with her gold-medal performance at the Tokyo Games (10.55m). She now has nine world titles.

WATCH | Higlights from Day 1 of the World Para Athletics Championships:

2023 World Para Athletics Championships Paris: Day 1 highlight show

Watch day one highlights from the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships from Paris.

The men’s F37 shot put crown went to Tunisia’s Ahmed Ben Moslah, the Tokyo silver medallist. Moslah topped the podium while setting an African record with a mark of 15.59, beating personal best performances from Kudratillokhon Marufkhujaev (14.69m) and Tolibboy Yuldashev (14.62m), both from Uzbekistan.

Redcliff, Alta., native Sarah Mickey also competed for a medal on the opening day, finishing eighth in the women’s F55 discus event with a throw of 21.14m. Mickey, who turns 25 on Monday, is also competing in the women’s F57 shot put event scheduled for Saturday.

WATCH | Canadian Para athletes ready for World Para Athletics Championships:

‘It’s our turn’: Canada’s Para athletes are ready for the World Para Athletics Championships | Athletics North

We spoke to Athletics Canada’s Para high-performance lead, Carla Nicholls, who let us know the team is hungry to put on a show for Canada and #FightToTheFinish at the World Para Athletics Championships.

Mexico’s Rosa María Guerrero had the golden throw in the women’s F55 discus (26.12m), dethroning 2019 world champion Erica Maria Castano Salazar of Colombia (25.70m). Latvia’s Diana Krumina (24.63m) took bronze.

On the track at Stade Charléty, Australia’s Maria Strong and Great Britain’s Gavyn Drysdale were crowned 100-metre world champions in the T72 classification.

Drysale set a European record with a time of 16.66 seconds, while Strong won gold with a personal best time of 17.07.

Magdalena Andruszkiewicz of Poland claimed silver behind Strong (18.20), with the bronze medal going to 17-year-old Judith Tortosa Vila of Spain, who also posted a personal best at 18.90.

The rest of the men’s T72 100m podium consisted of Great Britain’s Rafi Solaiman (16.78) and Brazil’s Vinicius Marques (17.60).

Japan’s Tomoki Sato set a championship record while retaining his world title in the men’s T52 1,500m wheelchair race, crossing the finish in 3:36.22 to claim the final medal of the opening day.

The reigning Paralympic champion was followed by 47-year-old Australian Thomas Geierspichler, who won Paralympic gold in 2004, while Thailand’s Pichaya Kurattanasiri rounded out the podium (4:04.40).

Another world championship record was set in the women’s F32 club throw event, with Polish Paralympic champion Roza Kozakowska  delivering a golden throw of 27.29m.

Uzbekistan, which is tied with Colombia after Day 1 with four medals, won gold in the women’s T11 long jump.

Asila Mirzayorova, who claimed silver in Tokyo, won her first world title with a jump of 5.13 metres. The distance broke the world championship record held by reigning Paralympic champion Silvania Costa of Brazil.

Paralympic champion Di Dongdong of China claimed the world title in the men’s T11 long jump (6.38m), with compatriot Ye Tao posting 6.25m to win silver ahead of Spain’s Joan Munar Martínez (6.15m).

The lone javelin gold medal of the day went to reigning Paralympic champion and world record holder José Gregorio Lemos of Colombia, who added a world championship record to his résumé with a throw of 58.14m in the men’s F38 event.

Colombia’s Luis Fernando Lucumi Villegas, the Tokyo bronze medallist, won the silver medal (53.28), while Tokyo silver medallist Vladyslav Bilyi rounded out the world championship podium (49.08).