Paris Paralympics 2024: Praveen Kumar wins gold in men's high jump T64 with new personal best effort

Praveen Kumar’s gold medal helped India record their best-ever medal tally at the Paralympics.

Praveen Kumar upgraded his silver medal from Tokyo to Gold at the Paris Paralympics 2024 with a best Jump of 2.08m in men’s high jump T64 event. Praveen also bettered his Area Record of 2.07m which he created in Tokyo 2021. It was a redemption time for the Para Asian Games champion after he failed to win a medal in this year’s World Championships finishing fourth with a best jump of 1.94m.

He cleared every jump of his on the first attempt, barring the 2.10m which he failed to clear. But by then, his gold was already confirmed. The 21-year-old became the 12th Paralympic Champion from India.

Praveen Kumar’s gold was also India’s sixth gold at Paris, surpassing the five gold medals in Tokyo and making this edition the nation’s most successful campaign in Paralympic Games history. India also has now won 26 medals (6 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze).

Also Read: Top 15 Indian athletes with most medals at Paralympics

Derek Loccident of the USA won the silver medal with a best jump of 2.06m. Derek was struggling at 2.00 m and 2.02m. He decided to skip both distances after the first failed attempt and tried to go for 2.06m. This was a bold call as he got only one chance to clear the distance. However, his strategy paid off and he won the silver medal.

The bronze medal was shared between Temurbek Giyazov of Uzbekistan and Maciej Lepiato of Poland. Both cleared 2.03m and failed to clear the 2.06m mark. However, both had the same number of foul jumps and hence the medal was shared. Temurbek also bettered his PB of 2.01m.

Tokyo Paralympic Champion Jonathan Broom-Edwards finished a disappointing fifth position with a best jump of 1.89m.

Praveen faced many obstacles on his path to becoming a para-athlete. He was born with a short leg and faced many insecurities during his childhood. He started playing volleyball. Soon he discovered his passion for the high jump and after competing with able-bodied athletes he decided to participate in para-athletics.

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