Paris Paralympics 2024: Sharad, Mariyappan win silver, bronze medals in men's high jump

India’s Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s high jump T63 final at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Tuesday. While doing so, Sharad set a Paralympic record of 1.88m in the T42 category whereas Mariyappan jumped a distance of 1.85m.

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USA’s Ezra Frech won gold with a jump of 1.94m, which is a new Paralympic record in the T63 category. Shailesh Kumar, the third Indian in this contest, finished fourth with a distance of 1.85, the same as Mariyappan. Shailesh equalled his personal best with the feat.

For Sharad, his silver on Tuesday was his second Paralympic medal after having won bronze in Tokyo with a jump of 1.83m. Athletes who compete in the T42 categories are affected with limb deficiencies in their legs, like amputations or short limbs since birth. Sharad Kumar was infected with polio at the age of two, whereas Mariyappan was injured in a bus accident when he was five years old that left his right leg permanently disabled.

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With his bronze medal, Mariyappan Thangavelu became India’s first para-athlete to clinch medals in three consecutive Paralympic Games. He had won gold in Rio in 2016 and silver in Tokyo in 2021.

India’s overall medals tally surged to 20 after Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s javelin throw T46 final. This is India’s best-ever medal haul at an edition of the Paralympics, breaking the nation’s medal haul of 19 in Tokyo three years ago.