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Day at a Glance

Champions show top form in track, archery, cycling

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By Luba Vangelova, Special to CNNSI.com

Monday was the day for resurgent champions. Brian Frasure, whose 100-meter world record was eclipsed twice in the past week, returned to the track for his second event, the 200 meters for amputees and other leg-mobility-impaired athletes. He blitzed the field in his semifinal, setting a new world record of 22.71 seconds.

Next it was the turn of Australian wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, whose eight-year winning streak may have ended Sunday night (the 800-meter race in which she finished second was later voided because of a collision, but that decision is currently being appealed). Sauvage accomplished in the 1,500-meter semifinal this morning what she tried but failed to do in Sunday night's contest: surge past Canadian Chantal Petitclerc in the final straightaway to finish first.

Also Monday morning, wheelchair-bound American archer Aaron Cross came out smoking in the category for archers with arm and leg disabilities. He hit a bulls-eye on his first attempt, then followed it up with three more bulls-eyes out of his remaining 17 shots. In doing so, he broke the 18-shot world record and advanced to the quarterfinals.

There he faced off against Zdenek Sebek of the Czech Republic, the previous world record holder. Cross couldn't maintain his momentum, and Sebek shot exceptionally well, setting a new Paralympic record (for a 13-shot match) to advance to the semifinals.

Monday afternoon, Czech Republic track cyclist Jiri Jezek raced against Australian Paul Lake in the one-leg disability mixed individual pursuit. Lake had just beaten Jezek's world record in the morning semifinals. In a thrilling race, Jezek then won it back and finished with the gold medal, a mere .024 seconds ahead of Lake.

Storylines

The Canadian men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams both finished their respective preliminary rounds undefeated. In a game played Monday to determine pool standings and quarterfinal match-ups, the Canadian men beat the Americans, 58-45. Tuesday is a rest day; the men's quarterfinals and women's semifinals will be played on Wednesday. The U.S.-Australia men's match will no doubt pack them in. In a relatively quiet day in swimming, Australia's intellectually disabled men's team won the same event that Ian Thorpe and company so memorably won in the Olympics last month, the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. They set a new world record in the process. (The previous world record holders, the Netherlands, were disqualified before the race for not nominating their team in time.) Unlike in the Olympics, the Australians did not play air guitars after their win. Equestrian dressage begins Tuesday. Paralympians compete on borrowed horses, giving them only days to get accustomed to working together as horse and rider.

Athlete of the hour

Australian Greg Smith won his second gold in 16 hours when he surged ahead at the last moment to win a closely contested 5,000-meter wheelchair race.

Beauts

Elementary-school children have been serving as medal bearers at some events. It's thrilled them and given the winners something else to smile about. Also on the kiddie front ... even hardened Australian journalists shed tears Monday morning when a sea of happy children waved their little flags and sang the national anthem with great gusto during Greg Smith's medal presentation at Olympic Stadium. Australian athletes have been signing autographs every afternoon at Olympic Park, attracting huge crowds.

Busts

Tony Volpentest, who finished just outside the medals in the 100 meters on Saturday, pulled a hamstring midway through Monday's 200-meter semifinal and fell to the track. He had been favored to win the event, for which he held the world record. His dreams of a medal in Sydney thus ended in disappointment. The demand for tickets has been so high that some ticket lines are now longer than some of the track events. But as one Paralympics organizer pointed out, for an event that just eight years ago had to give away its tickets in order to draw spectators, that's a nice problem to have. South Africa's Fanie Lombaard, who was chasing four individual field medals to go with his gold in Sunday's pentathlon, withdrew from Monday's long jump competition, citing fatigue and an injured ankle. It was a close match, but American wheelchair tennis player Randy Snow couldn't upset the top seed, Australian David Hall, in the round of 16.

Gold rush

Athletics - men's and women's 400m 4x400 relay and other events Fencing - men's and women's team epee open (last day of competition) Swimming - men's and women's 4x50m freestyle relay, 100m freestyle and other events

On the spot

American swimmer Jim Thompson, who only has partial function in his arms and legs, makes his Sydney Paralympics debut Tuesday. He will be trying to defend his Atlanta win in the 50-meter breaststroke.

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