Simran Sharma finished fourth in the women’s 100m T12 final at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, narrowly missing a podium finish with a time of 12.31 seconds.
New Delhi: India’s Simran Sharma missed out on the podium in the final of the women’s 100m T12 event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, finishing fourth with a timing of 12.31 seconds.
Omara Durand Elias of Cuba dominated the women’s 100m T12 final at the Paris 2024 Paralympics as she touched first in 11.81 seconds with guide Yuniol Kindelan. The silver was picked up by Ukraine’s Oksana Boturchuk and her guide Mykata Barabanov in 12.17 seconds, while Katrin Mueller of Germany earned bronze in 12.26 seconds with guide Noel-Phillippe Fiener.
Simran Sharma had come into the final in scintillating form, having finished second in semifinal 2 with a time of 12.33 seconds. As promising as her semifinal display was, though, it presented stiff competition for her in the final race to the medals. Setting the tone in the semifinals was Cuba’s Omara Durand, who blazed to 12.01 seconds ahead of Germany’s Katrin Mueller at 12.26 seconds. Overall, Simran recorded the third-fastest time of 12.33 seconds while Oksana Boturchuk from Ukraine qualified with a time of 12.36 seconds.
Indeed, the journey of Simran has been an incredible one. Born prematurely, she had spent 10 weeks in the incubator and was diagnosed with visual impairment. Overcoming all societal challenges, she rose to become a star in para-athletics-not without crucial support from her husband Gajendra Singh, an officer in Army Service Corps, who also coached her. She trains at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, where she honed her skills.
En route to the Paris Paralympics were a spate of brilliant victories, including gold in the 200m T12 at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, this year. Simran also bagged two silvers at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou and has always stood first in both the 100m and 200m events first at the National Championship and Indian Open since 2022.