Canada’s Zachary Gingras has captured his first Paralympic medal.
Gingras ran a personal-best time of 50.85 seconds to win bronze in Tuesday’s men’s T38 400-metre final at the Tokyo Games.
Zachary Gingras wins bronze in the Men’s 400m T38!!! @AthleticsCanada pic.twitter.com/80HMvgein8
— Canadian Paralympic Committee (@CDNParalympics) August 31, 2021
Gingras, who lives with cerebral palsy, came third behind Mexico’s Jose Rodolfo Chessani Garcia (49.99 seconds) and Tunisia’s Mohamed Farhat Chida (50.33 seconds).
“It means so much. It’s been a tough 18 months for everyone so to come out here and perform the way I did is nice to show that all my hard work paid off,” Gingras told reporters Tuesday.
“I just tried to run it like my heats. I went in relaxed and tried not to let the moment get to me too much. I got out fast and kept that same pace.”
The 20-year-old from Markham, Ont., finished second in his T38 400-metre heat with a time of 51.81 seconds to book a spot in the final.
Canada has now earned 13 Paralympic medals at the Tokyo Games: one gold, seven silver and five bronze.
