PARIS (AP) — The finish line is getting closer at the Paralympics Games, with only three days of competition left.
There are medals on offer in 10 Paralympic sports on Friday, including a raft of golds in track and field at Stade de France, the national stadium.
There are men’s and women’s titles in cycling road racing in nearby Clichy-sous-Bois and the women’s wheelchair tennis final takes place at Roland Garros, home to the French Open.
Iran is favorite to retain its title in the men’s sitting volleyball final.
Here’s a closer look at some of what’s coming up.
Storey looks to write another chapter
British Paralympic cycling star Sarah Storey looks to make it gold medal No. 19 when she competes in the C4-C5 women’s road race.
The 46-year-old Storey, who won her first Paralympic gold medals as a swimmer back in 1992, already won gold in Wednesday’s time trial.
Meanwhile, multiple world champion Kévin Le Cunff defends his Olympic title in the men’s C4-5 road race.
All the races take place on the same undulating 14.2-kilometer (8.8-mile) route, starting and finishing from Clichy-sous-Bois, located in the same Seine-Saint-Denis suburb as Stade de France.
Cyclists in C1-C5 categories compete with prostheses or limited movement of their upper or lower limbs while being able to use a standard bicycle.
There are also finals in the men’s and women’s B races for visually impaired athletes riding in tandem with an able-bodied guide, known as a pilot.
De Groot defends her tennis title
Wheelchair tennis star Diede De Groot remains on course for another Olympic gold.
The 27-year-old Dutchwoman defends her singles title on the court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros against Japan’s Yui Kamiji, having lost against her in the women’s doubles final on Thursday.
It’s also a rematch of the women’s singles final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
De Groot has won 23 Grand Slam titles in wheelchair singles. After losing to Kamiji in early 2021, she went on a 145-match unbeaten which ended in May this year.
USA equestrian riders eye team gold
Equestrian riders Rebecca Hart and Fiona Howard look for another gold medal in the team dressage event at the Palace of Versailles, once home to French royalty.
Hart and Howard won gold on Tuesday in their categories in individual dressage, while Roxanne Trunnell took silver in Grade I — which has the most severely impaired riders.
The 39-year-old Trunnell stands to win her fifth Paralympic medal after two individual golds and a team bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She contracted a virus in 2009 that caused swelling in her brain and left her needing a wheelchair.
The Americans face stiff competition from a British team featuring six-time gold medalist Natasha Baker.
Going for gold in volleyball
Bosnia and Herzegovina gets a rare chance for a Paralympic gold medal when it faces tournament favorite Iran in the men’s sitting volleyball final at North Paris Arena.
But they must find a way past Morteza Mehrzadselakjani, who is 8-foot-1 (2.46 meters) and measures over six feet (1.8 meters) seated with his arms raised.
Iran has won the last two gold medals and collected a total of seven since 1988.
But Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Iran to win the 2012 final in London and the 2004 final in Athens. The powerhouse nations have contested five of the past six Paralympic finals.
Germany and Egypt play for the bronze medal on Friday.
Fans get to watch a unique race
The crowd at Stade de France will get to see a fitting symbol of the Paralympics: the 4x100m universal relay.
The mixed-gender and mixed-disability race features teams of four athletes—two men and two women—with different disabilities.
Each team begins with a visually impaired athlete, followed by an amputee sprinter, then an athlete with cerebral palsy, and finishes with a wheelchair racer speeding to the line.
Unlike the traditional relay, there are no batons. Instead, the handoff is done by touch within designated zones on the track.
In the first Paralympic final at the Tokyo Games three years ago, the United States won in 45.52 seconds.
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Associated Press Writer Tom Nouvian in Paris contributed to this report.
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AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games
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