Host China reaped its bumpest single-day harvest in the athletics of the Beijing Paralympics on Saturday, taking five out of 20 gold medals on offer, while South Africa's "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius caught the limelight with his second gold.
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!['Blade runner' Oscar Pistorius of South Africa crosses the finish line during men's 200m T44 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. Pistorius won the gold medal with 21.67 seconds. [Chen Xiaowei/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080914/0019b93bd68d0a36a9be02.jpg "'Blade runner' Oscar Pistorius of South Africa crosses the finish line during men's 200m T44 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. Pistorius won the gold medal with 21.67 seconds. [Chen Xiaowei/Xinhua]")
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"Blade runner" Oscar Pistorius of South Africa crosses the finish line during men's 200m T44 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. Pistorius won the gold medal with 21.67 seconds. [Chen Xiaowei/Xinhua] |
Pistorius, nicknamed the "Blade Runner" for his J-shaped carbon-fiber blades, crossed the finish line in 21.67 seconds to add the 200m title to his 100m gold and set a new 200m Paralympics record.
The 21-year-old eyes another gold in the 400m for a triple-gold glory. "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 knees.
To deafening cheers from home fans, hosts China, which had led the previous six days' athletics competitions, launched a strong gold surge on Saturday.
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![Gold medalist Yang Sen of China (C), silver medalist Fu Xinhan of China (L) and bronze medalist Teboho Mokgalagadi of South Africa react during the awarding ceremony of men's 100m T35 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. [Zhang Yanhui/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080914/0019b93bd68d0a36aa0603.jpg "Gold medalist Yang Sen of China (C), silver medalist Fu Xinhan of China (L) and bronze medalist Teboho Mokgalagadi of South Africa react during the awarding ceremony of men's 100m T35 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. [Zhang Yanhui/Xinhua]")
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Gold medalist Yang Sen of China (C), silver medalist Fu Xinhan of China (L) and bronze medalist Teboho Mokgalagadi of South Africa react during the awarding ceremony of men's 100m T35 final at the National Stadium，also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 13, 2008. [Zhang Yanhui/Xinhua] |
In the track action, Chinese Xia Dong set a new world record of 16.6m in his first throw and won the gold medal in the men's shot put F37/38.
In women's Discus Throw - F40, Xia's compatriot Menggen Jimisu bettered the world record twice to win the gold medal with 28.04m.
In the field events, China's Yang Sen and Fu Xinhan finished one-two in the men's 100m-T35. In the women's 200m-T36 race, defending champion Wang Fang picked up the gold medal in 29.57 seconds.
Wheelchair racer Yu Shiran added to the host's medal tally with a 200m -T53 gold medal.
On Saturday, a total of 11 athletes broke the world records for different events for 16 times.
Following the host on Saturday's medal tally are Kenya and South Africa, both with two golds.
The remaining gold medals were split by Russia, Ukraine, France, Mexico, Germany, Britain, Brazil, Canada, Ireland and Morocco.
(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2008 )