South African sensation Oscar Pistorius completed a sprint gold double at the Beijing Paralympics on Saturday as China's gold rush continued.
To the deafening cheers from the crowd of over 50,000 at the Bird's Nest stadium, Pistorius, dubbed the "Blade Runner" for his J-shaped carbon-fiber prostheses, crossed the finish line in 21.67 seconds to add the 200m title to his 100m gold.
"I am extremely happy tonight. I have never ran on so big a stage like today. People are so passionate and excited to support," said Pistorius.
The 21-year-old eyes one more win in the 400m for a treble of sprint gold. "It's just a different distance, but I will still be myself. I will carry on and go forward to the final," he said.
Pistorius was born without his fibula, the smaller of the two bones in the lower legs, and when he was 11 months old both limbs were amputated below the knee.
Meanwhile, China collected 12 gold medals on Day Seven to increase its medal tally to 130, including 49 gold. Britain remained in runner-up spot with 38 gold, and the United States was third with 25.
At the Water Cube, Yang Bozun of China broke the world record twice in men's 100m backstroke S11 and finally snared an elusive gold medal.
The 22-year-old clocked 1 minute 08.40 seconds in the morning's heats, eclipsing the previous world mark of 1:09.23 set by American J. Morgan in 1992. He then bettered his own record in the final, touching in 1:07.74.
Yang, who is visually impaired, had won three silver medals at these Games.
"The gold, which I've been expecting for many days, finally came," he said. "But I didn't expect to break the world record for the second time."
Along with Yang's backstroke success, China swept all four gold medals in butterfly events with Xu Qing (men's 50m S6), Tian Rong (men's 50m S7), Jiang Fuying (women's 50m S6) and Huang Min (women's 50m S7).
The host nation also had a glorious day at the Bird's Nest, where they claimed five gold medals in track and field.
Eighteen-year-old Yang Sen had a perfect Paralympics debut when he won men's 100m T35 in a world record time of 12.29 seconds, while Wang Fang retained her crown in women's 200m T36.
Yu Shiran, who is also making his first appearance at the quadrennial sporting event, cruised to victory in men's 200m T53, and Xia Dong (men's shot put) and Jimisu Menggen (women's discus throw) produced world record-setting performances to claim gold medals in their respective disciplines.
Wheelchair-bound Bian Jianxin secured her third Paralympic title from as many Games with a comfortable win in the women's powerlifting 60kg class. The 34-year-old Chinese won with a lift of 135kg, nearly 18kg better than second-placed Egyptian Amal Mahmoud Osman.
Her compatriot Fu Taoying earned the country's fourth gold in powerlifting, taking the women's 67.5kg division.
In wheelchair basketball, Iran withdrew from a quarterfinal match against the United States and thus lost it by forfeit.
The International Paralympic Committee said in a statement Iran had withdrawn "due to dissatisfaction with the draw proposed for the crossover round and subsequent schedule."
The match had been brought forward to 9:00 am from 11:15 am and Iran didn't accept the change, the IPC said.
The crossover round is played after the group stage. The winner of the U.S.-Iran clash will face either Israel or Canada in the semifinals.
More than 4,000 athletes from 147 countries and regions are competing in 20 sports in five categories of disability, with a total of 472 gold medals at stake.
(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2008)