The U.S. wheelchair rugby team can win its first Paralympic title since 2008 when it plays Great Britain in the gold medal match. The Americans continued their unbeaten run by dispatching the sport's two-time defending Olympic champions, Australia, in a 49-42 win on Saturday to book their spot in the final.
While all eyes will be focused on that game, there's plenty more Paralympic action to watch while you wait. Among the highlights: Susannah Scaroni and Tatyana McFadden are back on the track one day after winning gold and bronze medals in the 5000m T54 final, and more medals are on the line in triathlon, rowing and swimming.
Below is a rundown of what to watch on Day 5 of the Paralympic Games. All events listed below can be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com, and many can also be seen as part of the Olympic Channel and NBCSN broadcasts.
TV Schedule
Event(s) | Time | Network |
---|---|---|
Triathlon, Table Tennis, Rowing | 5:30p-9:30p ET | Olympic Channel (Live Stream) |
9:30p-1:00a ET | Olympic Channel (Live Stream) | |
Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Tennis, Swimming, Track & Field, Rowing | 1:00a-5:00a ET | NBCSN (Live Stream) |
5:00a-8:30a ET | NBCSN (Live Stream) |
Live coverage of the Tokyo Paralympics starts on Olympic Channel with the triathlon races. Olympic Channel will show various events until 1 a.m. ET, at which point the coverage switches over the NBCSN for medal matches in wheelchair rugby, finals in swimming and track & field, and more.
Triathlon
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
Men's PTWC / Women's PTWC | 5:30 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
Men's PTS5 / Women's PTS5 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
The second and final day of triathlon at the Tokyo Paralympics consists of four more events. Americans Kendall Gretsch (women's PTWC), Chris Hammer (men's PTS5) and Grace Norman (women's PTS5) are all ranked inside the top three in the world for their respective classifications and will look to bring home medals from Tokyo. Gretsch debuted at the Winter Paralympics in 2018, earning a pair of gold medals in biathlon and cross-country skiing. Norman won triathlon gold at the 2016 Paralympics, competing at the time in the sport's PT4 class.
The field in the men's PTWC class is headlined by Jetze Plat of the Netherlands. The reigning Paralympic champion is undefeated in competition since 2016 and is a heavy favorite in his event. Plat will also compete in road cycling later on during these Paralympics.
Track & Field
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
Session 1 | 8:30 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
Session 2 | 6:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
A total of 20 medal events will be held on track & field's third day, with 14 of those events coming in the day's second session (6 a.m. ET).
Susannah Scaroni and Tatyana McFadden, who earned gold and bronze medals in yesterday 5000m T54 final, won't have much time to rest up before going back out on the track. They'll compete in the preliminary round of the women's 800m T54 (9:57 p.m. ET) in the day's first session before likely racing for a medal (6:17 a.m. ET) in the second session. McFadden, an 18-time Paralympic medalist, is one of the biggest names on the U.S. Paralympic Team, while Scaroni, who dominated the 5000m field, could be in the midst of a breakout Games.
Other U.S. athletes looking to score track & field medals include Jaleen Roberts in the women's long jump T37 (6:12 a.m. ET), Roderick Townsend in the men's high jump T47 (6:28 a.m. ET), Daniel Romanchuk in the men's 400m T54 (7:21 a.m. ET), and Raymond Martin in the men's 1500m T52 (7:42 a.m. ET). Martin arrives in Tokyo as a seven-time Paralympic medalist, with six of those medals being gold.
Rowing
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
Rowing B Finals | 8:30 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
Rowing A Finals | 9:50 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
Paralympic rowing concludes with four medal races. The final event, the mixed coxed four (10:50 p.m. ET), will include a U.S. boat, which advanced directly to the final after the crew won its preliminary heat earlier in the week.
Wheelchair Rugby
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
Bronze Medal: Australia vs Japan | 1:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
Gold Medal: USA vs Great Britain | 5:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
The wheelchair rugby tournament culminates in a pair of medal matches, with Team USA on the verge of its first Paralympic gold medal in the sport since 2008.
The gold medal game will be a rematch of the United States vs. Great Britain. When the two teams met in the group stage just a few days ago, the Americans pulled off a close 50-48 victory in what was an extremely tight game throughout all four quarters. Key players to watch will be Chuck Aoki, who has a team-leading 91 tries for the U.S., and Jim Roberts, who leads Great Britain in scoring with 81 tries.
Since winning gold at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, the U.S. has taken bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016. Meanwhile, Great Britain is guaranteed its first-ever Paralympic medal in wheelchair rugby.
That game will be preceded by Australia vs. Japan in the bronze medal match. This intriguing matchup features the two-time reigning Paralympic champions (Australia) and the reigning world champions (Japan). Japan won 57-53 when they met in the group stage earlier this week.
Wheelchair Basketball
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
USA vs Australia (M) | 1:45 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
USA vs Algeria (W) | 4:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
After a heartbreaking loss to Great Britain yesterday dropped its record to 2-1, the U.S. men's wheelchair basketball is back in action against Australia. Steve Serio, Jake Williams and the rest of Team USA will look to hand the Aussies their first loss of the group stage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women look to bounce back from yesterday's one-point loss to China. They'll play their fourth and final game of the group stage against Algeria, which has yet to win a game and suffered a historic 109-18 loss to the Netherlands just a few days ago.
Swimming
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
Swimming Heats | 8:00 p.m. ET | Live Stream |
Swimming Finals | 4:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
Gia Pergolini had a breakout performance earlier this week when the 17-year-old set a world record and won gold in her 100m backstroke race. After following that up with a fifth-place finish in her 100m butterfly event, Pergolini will have one more race in Tokyo: the women's S13 50m freestyle. If she advances out of her qualifying heat in the first session, she'll compete in the final, which is scheduled for 5:17 a.m. ET.
In another event—one of 13 medal events in total for the day—McKenzie Coan attempts to defend her gold medal in the women's S7 400m freestyle. Coan won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 2016 Paralympics.
Goalball
Event | Time | Link |
---|---|---|
USA vs Algeria (M) | 4:30 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
Australia vs RPC (W) | 6:00 a.m. ET | Live Stream |
The U.S. men play Algeria in their third game of the goalball tournament. It's been an uneven start for Team USA, as they beat two-time reigning world champions in Brazil in the opener but were dominated by Japan 11-1 in the second game. The Algerian men have yet to win a game so far in the group stage.