PARIS, Sept 2 — The Malaysian contingent at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games bagged its first medal when sprinter Eddy Bernard grabbed a bronze in the men’s 100-metre (m) T44 (physical impairment) event at the Stade de France here today.

The Sabah sprinter, running in Lane 3, got off to a good start but lost a bit of momentum mid-race before crossing the finish line in 11.58 seconds (s) for the bronze medal.

That allowed the 23-year-old Paralympic debutant to break the old Asian record of 11.75s set by Sri Lanka’s Indika Gamage at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan in May.

Eddy also improved on his personal best of 11.77s set en route to winning silver at the prestigious world meet in Kobe.

Meanwhile, in today’s final, South African Mpumello Mhlongo stormed to the gold medal in 11.12s while Cuba’s Yamel Luis Vives Suares (11.20s) took silver.

The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games began on Aug 28 and will end on Sept 8. — Bernama