Kiwi speedster Danielle Aitchison is trying to put the "mixed emotions" of Paralympics silver behind her as she prepares for her next medal bid at Paris.
The reigning world champion and world recordholder appeared in top form as she strode effortlessly to a new Games record in her T36 200 metres heat on Sunday morning (NZ time), but could not withstand a powerful performance from Chinese Yiting Shi less than 14 hours later.
From the start, Shi, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist, quickly made up ground from the lane inside Aitchison and held her form down the straight to clock 27.50s — a new Games mark and just 0.03s outside the world standard.
The Kiwi sprinter could not overcome defending champion Yiting Shi of China. (Source: TVNZ)
The Kiwi was left balancing her joy at silver with the frustration of a lost opportunity.
"Definitely mixed emotions," she told TVNZ. "Super happy with silver and that was just a brilliant race, but a little bit disappointed knowing I definitely had a chance at the gold medal and that last five metres just cost me.
"Definitely fatigue... had a late night after the heat and was very late getting back to the accommodation. I didn't sleep until this morning, so very tired."
Those conditions were the same for all the finalists, including Shi, but fatigue is already an everyday challenge for Aitchison, who was born with severe jaundice, cerebral palsy and hearing loss.
She now looks forward to another shot at gold, when she contests the 100 metres heats and final within seven hours on Tuesday/Wednesday (NZ time). Her season best of 13.41s ranks second in the 12-woman field, again behind only Shi (13.35s).
"I've got a few days to rest and recover, and I'm looking forward to it," said Aitchison. "Hopefully, I'll have another chance to get out there and smash it.
"We've done a lot of work on having heats and finals on the same day, so we need to just trust the process and know I can do it."
Aitchison and Shi are developing a fierce rivalry, but also a warm friendship through their battles on the track. After beating Shi for the world title at Kobe in July, the Kiwi shared a sweet moment of mutual celebration, which played out again at Paris.
"Going neck to neck with China down the front straight and crossing the line... I was super happy for her, because it was such a good race," reflected Aitchison. "All the girls did amazing today."
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