A 50-year-old Kazakh sportswoman has won a gold medal and set a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Zulfiya Gabidullina finished in 43.33 seconds, taking one second off the previous world record for athletes with amputations.
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev congratulated Gabidullina for winning gold, the country’s first-ever medal at any Summer Paralympic Games.
“The world knows you as a strong athlete who glorified Kazakhstan. ... Your victory is the result of hard work,” Nazarbaev said in a message published by his office on September 9.
Gabidullina, who was a wheelchair racer, took up swimming in her 30s.
China has won most gold medals at the Rio Paralympic Games so far with seven. Britain is in second place so far with five medals, followed by Uzbekistan with three.