Zou Lijuan won the women's shot put F43 final at Stade de France on Tuesday, securing her second gold medal and marking China's 200th para-athletics gold since their first victory at the Paralympics in 1984.

Gold medalist Zou Lijuan (C) and silver medalist Zuo Caiyun (L) of China, bronze medalist Dayna Crees of Australia pose for photos during awarding ceremony of the women's javelin throw F34 of Para Athletics at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, Sept. 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

"It makes me happier than just winning a gold medal for myself," Zou said. "This remarkable achievement attributes to the government's concern for people with disabilities and athletes' spirit of persistence."

Also in para-athletics, Lamiya Valiyeva's world record time of 11.76 seconds secured her the T13 100m Paralympic title for Azerbaijan.

Kimberly Alkmade of the Netherlands set a new record in the women's 200m T64 with a time of 25.42 seconds, and American Ezra French raised the Paralympic record to 1.94 meters in the men's high jump T63.

The Chinese swimming team shone at La Defense Arena, winning four golds, four silvers, and three bronzes in just six races. They impressively swept the medals in the men's 50m backstroke S5 final before achieving the same feat in the women's event.

Men's 50m backstroke S5 gold medalist Yuan Weiyi was not surprised by their success.

"Before the competition, we said to each other, 'We will take all the medals. All the medals need to go to China,'" Yuan said. "We are very proud we made it happen."

The United States claimed two gold medals and one silver on the first day of para-equestrian at the Chateau de Versailles. Rebecca Hart won her first gold in the individual event grade III at her fifth Paralympic Games, while her teammate and Paralympic debutant Fiona Howard took the title in grade II. 

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