The Rio Paralympics kicked off with early Canadian success on Thursday.
Here are some early results:
Gagné loses bronze medal bout
There were moments during Thursday's bronze-medal bout that Priscilla Gagné couldn't hear her coach Andrzej Sadej over the raucous cheers of the crowd.
The 30-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., lost to Uzbekistan's Sevinch Salaeva in judo's 52-kilogram category to finish fourth at the Paralympics, but the noisy crowd will be one big plus she takes from these Games.
"It's pretty exciting to be in a venue with lots of kids, that was probably the most special part," Gagné said. "After my second fight, all the kids who were so excited, and as soon as I acknowledged them they went bananas. It was cute."
Canada's Priscilla Gagne narrowly misses #Paralympics podium in Judo. https://t.co/ahTm10PDOO
— @CBCOlympics
She began her day with a loss to Algeria's Cherine Abdellaoui, but bounced back to defeat Ukrainian Liudmyla Lohatska by Ippon in the repechage round.
"I don't mind losing when it's really earned. So it's a little disappointing the first [loss] for sure," she said. "But this last one, I'm disappointed but [Salaeva] worked her butt off, we both did, and it was a mistake on my part, she was able to counter something. It was a good fight."
The two met in a huge embrace after the bout.
"I told her 'Congratulations,' and she was super happy and super, super not wanting to let go of a hug, so I just kept hugging her," Gagné said smiling.
"I have a couple of regrets that I could have done differently today, but all in all, you can't let it destroy you," she added. "You have an option, you can let it destroy you or you can use it as fuel to make you come back stronger or harder or learn from it more. I choose the latter option."
Gagné made her Paralympic debut following a rocky few years that saw her break both her feet in the same bout in 2011. The injuries kept her off the mat for eight months.
Canadian women win wheelchair basketball opener
Canada's top-ranked women's wheelchair basketball team started the Rio Paralympics by defeating Great Britain 43-36 in the morning.
Canada is off to a great start in #wheelchairbasketball, defeating Great Britain in their #Paralympics opening match https://t.co/5GzCuHMe8g
— @CBCOlympics
Veteran Janet McLachlan, of North Vancouver, led the team with 21 points, while Cindy Ouellet added another 14. They will continue their quest to reach the Paralympic podium for the first time since 2004 when they face Argentina Saturday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Good to get the win in our 1st game today 43-36 vs GB #Wheelchairbasketball #Rio2016 Looking forward to a day off tomorrow @CDNParalympics
— @JanetMcL5
Swimmers miss the podium on Day 1
Gordie Michie narrowly missed a spot on the podium when he placed fifth in the men's 100 backstroke S14 final. Michie finished with a time of one minute 5.12 seconds.
Canada's Gordie Michie finishes just under two seconds shy of a #Paralympics podium in men's 100m backstroke S14 https://t.co/0zz03xRYD7
— @CBCOlympics
Earlier, Abi Tripp finished sixth in the women's 400-metre freestyle S8 final. The Kingston, Ont. native finished with a time of 5:16.25. In the men's 100 breaststroke SB9 final, James Leroux finished seventh in 1:10.03.
In track and field action, Ilana Dupont finished last in the women's 100 T53 final. Dupont, who won silver at the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto last summer, finished with a time of 17.24 seconds.
Priscilla Gagné narrowly loses bronze in Paralympic judo