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On a historic night at South Paris Arena, Daniel Michel and Jamieson Leeson, along with their ramp operators Ash Maddern and Jasmine Haydon, both snared silver medals in their individual boccia BC3 events, etching their names in the Australian boccia record books.
It’s the first time at the same Paralympic Games Australia has won two individual medals in boccia and the highest place on the dais for the country, making it Australia’s most successful result ever at a Paralympic Games having previously claimed two bronze medals in 1996 and 2020.
In front of a legion of Aussie fans and members of the Australian Paralympic Team, Leeson and Haydon were first to hit the court, taking on Hong Kong’s Kei Ho Yuen.
In a tight battle, Ho Yuen lead 4-0 after two ends before Leeson fought back to win the next two ends 1-0, but ultimately fell short scoring 4-2 at the conclusion of the match.
While Leeson was thrilled to take home her first Paralympic medal, she said the gold would have been incredible. She said she gave her all and was happy to continue building the sport’s profile.
“Gold would have been nice, but I think I went out and had a hot crack and unfortunately it didn’t go my way tonight. But I’m super happy with the results,” Leeson said.
“It’s cool for me to be able to say that I’ve made history. But I think for me it’s more about the progression of the sport and to see how Dan and I as a team – and other fellow boccia athletes who have been on the high performance program with us over the last few years – it really just shows that Australia can do it. Bring on Brisbane 2032.”
After winning Australia’s second Paralympic boccia medal in Tokyo and Paris marking their third Games, Michel and Madden were thrilled to have the opportunity to play for gold, after narrowly missing the main final in 2020.
Despite being down 0-4 after the first two ends, Michel started to show signs of a comeback to win the third end. However, Republic of Korea’s Howon Jeong stayed cool under pressure and was able to edge out Michel in the final end to take the gold 5-2.
Michel said he was thrilled to take home another Paralympic medal and praised his tough opponent.
“I feel stoked about it,” he said. “I mean, like I said the other day, me playing against Howon in the final was a dream scenario. He’s the best and I love playing against him.
“We see the game in very similar ways, so it’s always a super fun match and he made me play some really hard shots, I stepped up to the plate tonight I just didn’t quite have the execution I needed to win that match and hats off to him.”
With green and gold filling the stands to cheer the Aussies on, Michel said: “To have my family and friends there and a huge Australian presence, it really helped a lot and spurred me on.
“It was great to head out and see so much green and gold it was a very special moment.”
The dynamic duo will line up again from in the BC3 mixed pairs, in which they are the world champions.
“Jam and I know each other so well and we play so well together so I can’t wait to start with the pairs tomorrow,” Michel said.
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By: Danielle Balales, Paralympic Australia
Published: 3 September 2024
