LONDON — The London Paralympics were on course to break an unprecedented number of world records as the Games hit half-way Tuesday, while Oscar Pistorius found out he will not be sanctioned for his outburst. As yet more benchmarks tumbled in the Olympic Park, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said South African sprint star Pistorius would face no action for his trackside comments about the running blades of Brazil's Alan Oliveira, who handed him a shock defeat Sunday. Around London, the wheelchair fencing got under way and the first boccia medals were handed out at the ExCeL exhibition center, while the equestrian events came to a close with Britain topping the medal table at Greenwich Park. The IPC said the 2012 athletes were on course to break more world records than the 279 achieved in Beijing four years ago. In the first half of the Games to Tuesday, 137 new world records were set, with a further 81 new Paralympic bests. Some 197 medals had been won by athletes from 63 countries, in the 228 completed medal events of the 503 at the Games, with China well ahead of Great Britain, Russia and Australia at the top of the table. “The fact is our athletes are getting better. They're training full-time. This is not just a hobby sport. It's professional sport at its very best,” said IPC spokesman Craig Spence. He also said there would be “no disciplinary action against Oscar” after the 25-year-old hit out at Oliveira following his defeat, when the double below-the-knee amputee sensationally lost his first T44 200m race in nine years. He claimed his rival and other competitors in the race had a much longer stride length due to his “taller” carbon fibre prostheses. Reclusive North Korea, meanwhile, made its maiden appearance at the Paralympics, but 16-year-old swimmer Rim Ju-Song trailed in last in his S6 50m freestyle swimming heat. “I'm very honored to be the first North Korean Paralympian. I'm encouraged that many people cheered for me,” said the wildcard, who lost his left arm and left leg in a construction site accident aged six. The normally raucous 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium fell silent for the men's F11 long jump final, in which athletes with little or no vision take off aided only by the sound of their coaches' calls. To give the competitors the best chance of performing well, the venue descended into a rare hush. “I have been waiting for this day for almost 10 years,” said Ukraine's Ruslan Katyshev won the 2012 Games gold with a personal best of 6.46 meters. “I was nervous but I was trying to hold my emotions.” Australia's Jacqueline Freney won her fifth gold of the London Paralympics Monday, capping off a day of triumph by shattering a world record in the relay. The 20-year-old, along with teammates Ellie Cole, Maddison Elliott and Katherine Downie, finished the 4x100m freestyle 34 point relay in a record 4min 20.39sec, with the US claiming silver and Britain taking the bronze. Also on the first attempt, China's Mi Na won the F37 women's shot put — a category for athletes with cerebral palsy — stretching her own world record to 12.20 meters. Alphanso Cunningham won Jamaica's first London 2012 Paralympics medal by triumphing in the seated F52/53 men's javelin title with a 21.84-meter throw. Russia's Alexey Ashapatov extended his domination of the men's F57/58 seated throwing events, completing his second straight Paralympics shot put and discus double. He took his shot world record to 16.20 meters to win the final. Meanwhile in semifinal races, one-armed Yunidis Castillo of Cuba became the first T46 female sprinter to break the 12-second barrier in the 100m, clocking 11.95 seconds. In the men's 200m T34 — contested by wheelchair athletes with cerebral palsy — Tunisia's Walid Ktila set a new world record of 27.98 seconds. In the wheelchair tennis, British flag bearer Peter Norfolk —dubbed the “quadfather” — crashed out in what he called an “appalling” shock quarterfinal defeat in his bid for a third straight quad Paralympics gold. Brazil won the first boccia gold of the Games, beating the Czech Republic 5-3 in the BC4 mixed pairs. — Agencies
