Athletics action at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics started with a flourish, with four gold medals decided in the opening session. While there was plenty of action on the track (22 heats across five events), the main attraction was the four field finals in the center of the National Stadium.

Fittingly it was crowd favorite Yao Juan of China who was crowned the first Paralympic gold medalist in the Bird's Nest for the Athletics competition. Yao claimed the gold medal in the Women's Javelin F42-46. Yao had the crowd cheering from the start, with an F44 world record (40.29m) on her opening throw. She bettered her world record on her third throw (40.34m), and again on her fourth throw (40.51m).

Bronze medalist from Athens 2004, Andrea Hegen of Germany, secured the silver medal and broke the F46 world record, with her second throw (39.23 meters). Madeleine Hogan of Australia saved her best for last to earn the bronze medal, with a season's best of 38.89m. With medals awarded in multi-classification field events through a point system, Yao (1106 points), Hegen (1071 points) and Hogan (1062 points) were standout performers.

Out of the medals, China's Zheng Baozhu set an F42 Paralympic record with her third throw (30.18 meters), and fourth throw (31.05m). But her efforts were only enough to secure the fourth position (1056 points). The youngest Athletics competitor in Beijing, 14-year-old Hollie Arnold of Great Britain matched it with a strong field to finish in 11th (794 points), with her best throw of 29.10m. The Athens 2004 silver medalist, Natalia Gudkova of Russia, threw a season's best (38.16m) to finish in fifth (1042 points) ahead of Germany's Jana Schmidt in sixth (1009 points). The Athens gold medalist, Marjaana Vare of Finland finished in ninth (906 points), with her best throw of 26.63m.

The Men's Discus F55/56 saw nine strong performers looking for gold. The first competitor to throw, Leonardo Diaz of Cuba, set the tone for the competition with a new F56 world record, 40.87 meters, surpassing his old mark of 39.90m. With medals awarded in multi-classification field events through a points system, Diaz secured a gold medal with 1061 points. Ali Mohammad Yari secured a silver medal with his season best, 39.39m, for 1023 points. Tanto Campbell of Jamaica put in a season best performance on his final throw, 39.31m, to score 1021 points and earn the bronze medal. Martin Nemec of Czech Republic was competitive all day. His F55 Paralympic record, 37.48m, was shy of his F55 world record (39.35m), but good enough for fourth position.

The Women's Shot Put F54/56 was an exciting battle from start to finish. Czech Republic's Eva Kacanu stole the early limelight with a new F44 Paralympic record (6.59m) on her first throw. With medals awarded in multi-classification field events through a point system, Kacanu was in first position heading into her final throw. A new F44 world record (6.73m) ensured her the gold medal, with 1084 points. Germany's Martina Monika Willing set an F56 world record with her 8.61m, and picked up the silver medal (1034 points). Willing's team mate, the oldest female Athletics competitor in Beijing, Marianne Buggenhagen, used her experience to throw a season best 8.54m (1026 points) on her final throw for the bronze medal.

The Men's Triple Jump F12 was a close encounter. Sitting in second position, Osamah Alshanqiti of Saudi Arabia needed a strong sixth effort to secure a medal. A 15.37 meter performance was enough to not only secure the gold medal, ahead of Athens 2004 bronze medalist Ivan Kytsenko of Ukraine, but also to set a new world and Paralympic record, bettering the 15.30m record set by China's Duan Qifeng in Athens. Kytsenko's distance of 15.24m on his last effort secured the silver ahead of Vladimir Zayets of Azerbaijan, whose 15.00m was a clear bronze medal performance. The Athens 2004 silver medalist, Alliaksandr Kouzmichou of Belarus, finished in fourth with a season's best, 14.28m.

New Paralympic records were also set on the track this morning. In the Men's 800m T-12 heats, Mushai Samwel Kimani of Kenya ran a new T-11 Paralympic record but failed to qualify through to the next round. China's Zhang Lixin advanced to the semi-final of the Men's 400m T54 with a new T54 Paralympic Record, 46.75 seconds.

(BOCOG September 8, 2008)