First gold falls at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as Japan fights the rise of covid-19

(CNN) – Australian cyclist Paige Greco won the first gold of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Wednesday with the Games, delayed a year due to the pandemic, finally underway as new cases of coronavirus surge in Japan’s capital.

Greco crossed the line first in the women’s C1-3 3,000-meter individual pursuit at the Izu Velodrome ahead of silver medalist Xiaomei Wang of China. Germany’s Denise Schindler took bronze.

Among the dozens of medal events on Wednesday, there are 16 golds up for grabs in swimming.

Speaking after qualifying for the men’s 400m freestyle final on Wednesday afternoon in Japan, Australian swimmer Alexander Tuckfield said that getting into the pool after the long postponement was like taking “a weight off my shoulders.”

“Five years of just training, training and coaching for this competition,” Tuckfield said.

Wheelchair basketball and golbol competitions also began on Wednesday. The Chinese women’s basketball team beat Algeria 74-25 and the Netherlands defeated the United States team 68-58.

The wheelchair fencing medal events are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Japan.

The 2020 Paralympic Games kicked off with a colorful and festive opening ceremony on Tuesday night, which included a parade of participating nations led by the six-member Paralympic Refugee Team.

A volunteer carried the Afghan flag, honoring Afghan athletes who were unable to compete in the Games after flights out of the country were canceled after the Taliban seized power.

Speaking on Wednesday, International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence said two Paralympic athletes from Afghanistan had managed to flee the country.

“I’m not going to tell you where they are, because it’s not about sports, it’s about human life and keeping people safe,” he said. “Now they are in a safe place. They have been through a very traumatic process, and are undergoing counseling and psychological health tests.”

Not all countries attended the opening ceremony – the New Zealand Paralympic team did not participate due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Maryam Salehizadeh and Meghan Mahon of Canada in action during a soccer match against the Russian Olympic Committee on August 25 in Chiba, Japan.

Japan has recorded record cases of coronavirus in recent months, with more than 21,000 infections and 42 deaths across the country reported on Tuesday.

Tokyo confirmed 4,220 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections in August to more than 100,000, the first time a monthly count has reached that number. Last week, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called the situation a “disaster level” emergency.

According to the prime minister’s office, just over 40% of Japan’s population has been fully vaccinated on August 22.

The Japanese government will decide on Wednesday on extending the state of emergency for Tokyo and 12 other regions to eight more prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Like the Olympics, the Paralympic Games are held almost entirely without spectators to slow the spread of the virus. Plans to allow some school children to attend events have been canceled in some parts of the country due to the spread of the virus, Tokyo 2020 spokesman Takaya Masa said on Wednesday.

At least eight Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 since Aug. 12, according to the International Paralympic Committee, as well as 33 members of the Games-related staff.

CNN Tokyo’s Emiko Jozuka contributed reporting.