Sarah Mickey got her first chance at a Paralympic Games on Friday morning when she participated in the women’s discus throw F55.
The Canadian from Redcliff, Alta. competed against 10 other nations at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, ending up in sixth place after achieving a distance of 22.49 metres on her final attempt.
Under extreme weather conditions (Japan’s capital surpassed the 30 C mark at the time of the event), the athlete had six tries to attempt a place at the podium, having an overall good performance which she was happy with.
“It was really hot out there, and we were out in the field for a long time, but I’m definitely happy with the way I threw,” said Mickey. “While I had hoped to place a little higher in the standings, sixth place at the Paralympics is still sixth place, so I think that’s something to be happy about.”
The discus thrower was one of the first participants at the event, and for a large part of it she was part of the top three.
However, the 23-year-old was facing rivals with previous experience on the Paralympic stage, such as Diana Dadzite (Latvia), Erica Maria Castano Salazar (Colombia), and Rooba Alomari (Bahrein). The three of them achieved their personal bests at the competition, leaving the Canadian without a chance for the bronze medal.
That medal ended up in hands of the Mexican representative, Rosa Maria Guerrero Cazares, who finished behind Dadzite (silver) and Feixia Dong from China (gold).