‘Not a single day without a medal!’

This is the motto of the Belarusian team at the 15th Summer Paralympic Games
This is the motto of the Belarusian team at the 15th Summer Paralympic Games. On the first day of competition swimmer Igor Boki clinched gold in the 100m butterfly. The next day the team flag bearer, Alexander Triputs, won bronze in javelin throwing. On the third day of the competition, Igor Boki was once again on the highest step of the medals podium. And a day later, he took a further bronze!



Living up to his nickname of the ‘Belarusian Phelps’

Igor was first in the S13 100m butterfly finals, breaking his own record with a time of 53.85 seconds. His previous record was 54.44 seconds which he set at the 2015 Swimming World Championships in Glasgow. It is his sixth gold medal. Just a day later, Igor Boki became a seven-time Paralympic champion! The Belarusian claimed victory in the S13 200m medley in the preliminary heats with a result of 2:06.13 seconds, setting a new Paralympic record. In the finals he improved his achievement to 2:04.02 seconds.

One more medal, this time a bronze, was not long in coming. Igor clocked 1:06.71 seconds to finish third in the SB13 100m breaststroke. Oleksii Fedyna of Ukraine and Firdavsbek Musabekov of Uzbekistan both touched in at 1:04.94 to take gold.

Taking into account the Olympic Games in London, our swimmer has nine Paralympic Games medals: seven gold, one silver and one bronze. Judging by his current form, this is far from being his limit.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated swimmer Igor Boki on winning the first gold medal at the 15th Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

‘I congratulate you on this important victory! Thanks to your dedication and hard work, outstanding courage and the will to win, you have become a six-time Paralympic champion and proved that you are number one’, reads the message. According to the Belarusian President, such victories prove that a strong-spirited person can overcome all obstacles and defy the limits of what is possible...



Sports character

Alexander Triputs’ fourth attempt brought a bronze medal when he was able to show his best result of 23m 56cm. Now Alexander has a complete set of Paralympic medals. To the gold and two silver medals won among the visually impaired at the Games in Sydney and Athens, he added a bronze medal in javelin throwing ‘with no run-up’. Before the Paralympics, speaking about his goals, Alexander was very specific, “I’ll definitely go for a gold medal. In Rio I will die trying otherwise it makes no sense to go halfway around the globe.” 

Unfortunately, first prize went to Greece. But nevertheless, Alexander, who managed to return to the sport after a fall from the fourth floor, spinal fractures and nine surgeries, is a real hero. The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, congratulated a member of the national team Alexander Triputs on winning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. ‘Having coped with the most difficult tests in life, you have become a symbol of cast-iron will and a true sports character’, reads the message.

By Kirill Karin

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