Athens - Phillipa Johnson, riding borrowed horse Burgmans Benedict, won her second silver medal at the Athens Paralympics in individual dressage at the Markopoulo Equestrian Centre on Friday.
Johnson, who earlier this week claimed silver in equestrian dressage, came close to gold with superb routines in the early rounds of the individual dressage, then succumbed to Norway's Ann Cathrin Lubbe on Zanko - the same rider who won gold in their first encounter - with an overall percentage of 78.273. Lubbe took gold with 79.318 and Canada's Karen Brain on Dasskara won bronze with 77.277.
Going into the night session, South Africa sported nine gold, eight silver and one bronze.
At the Olympic Stadium cerebral palsy athlete Malcolm Pringle, winner of the 800m gold in a world record 1:58,90sec earlier in the week, finished seventh in the 200m final in 24,34sec. He was limping from a strained right hamstring and summed it up for his team-mates when he said: "I hope that the people back home realise now that the Paralympics is not a Mickey Mouse affair. The standard here is very high and improving all the time." Apt words, considering that Tim Sullivan of Australia won the gold medal in a world record 22,92sec. Consider too, that Zanele Situ, primed to defend her javelin Paralympic title, finished seventh in the discus with a 13,41m throw. In Sydney 2000, she won silver in the discus with a 12,54m throw.
Also at the Olympic Stadium, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who was the sensational world record winner of the 200m, qualified second in his 100m heat in the morning session. He races the 100 final on Saturday. Pistorius ran 11,43sec against single amputee, American Marlon Shirley, who is the world record holder who lost his lower right leg in a landmine explosion in the war in Iraq.
World record
Pistorius' 11,43 is a world record for T43 class (double amputee).
"I've got to get more experience in the 100," said Pistorius. "I need to improve my starts." Hilton Langenhoven also qualified for the 100 final on Saturday.
Ernst van Dyk qualified for the 800m wheelchair finals on Saturday and Sonja Lloyd finished ninth in the javelin, while cyclists Susan van Staden was 10th in the road time trial and Adriaan Nel failed to complete the course after a clash with another tricycle that damaged his rear wheel.
Stefan Herholdt was strong on the hills in his road race, but he fell back to ninth in the end. Chantell Stierman finished seventh in 60kg division weightlifting. Wendy Oliver finished 20th in individual freestyle equestrian competition.
In swimming Tiaan du Plessis was sixth in the 400 freestyle and Ebert Kleynhans, defending his 100 freestyle title, finished eighth.
In the morning, Natalie du Toit surged through to the 400m freestyle finals as clear favourite for her fourth gold medal later on Friday night.
The Cape Town leg amputee left the field way back as she powered to a 4min 43,66sec win in her heat in the Aquatic Centre. Her world record is 4:35,17.
She dominated the heats to such an extent in this, her favourite Paralympic distance, that she is certain to add the 400 freestyle medal on Friday night to the 100 butterfly (world record), 100 freestyle (Paralympic record) and world record 200 IM that she has won this week.
