TOKYO - Team USA earned three medals on the first day of road cycling from Fuji International Speedway.
Shawn Morelli (Saegertown, Penn.) started things off for the U.S. by earning a gold medal in the time trial WC4 (39:33.79) just before teammate Aaron Keith (Woodinville, Wash.) took home silver in the time trial MC1(24:55.40). Oksana Masters (Louisville, Ky.) blazed to a victory in the time trial WH4-5 (45:40.05) to add to the medal count.
Now a three-time Paralympic champion, Morelli’s win gave her back-to-back golds in the road time trial. Keith’s silver was Team USA’s second medal on the day and the athlete’s first Paralympic medal of his career. To round out podium finishes on Tuesday, Masters claimed her ninth Paralympic medal, joining elite company as one of six Americans with summer and winter Paralympic Games gold medals.
Masters wore teammate Samantha Bosco’s uniform during her race. Bosco was previously named to the U.S. Paralympic Team but had to withdraw due to an injury while training.
Team USA notched eight top-5 finishes on the day and an additional five top 10, all time trial races. First-time Paralympian Cody Jung (San Diego) made his debut with a fourth-place finish in MC4 (47:09.44). Clara Brown (Falmouth, Maine) earned fifth in WC3 (26:57.28), while Jamie Whitmore (Somerset, Calif.) came in seventh (27:20.48) in the same division. Tom Davis (Fremont, Ind.) nabbed a fifth-place finish in MH4 (41:14.12) and Freddie de los Santos (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) claimed a sixth-place spot in MH5 (41:37.77).
First-time Paralympian Ryan Pinney (Phoenix) came in sixth in MH3 (44:41.34) while Paralympic veteran Will Groulx (Portland, Ore.) took fourth in MH2 (36:17.25) after he crashed on the course. Alicia Dana (Putney, Vt.) was the last racer of the handcycling divisions, earning sixth-place in WH3 (37:09.19). Just outside of the top 10 was Joe Berenyi (Aurora, Ill.) in 14th place in MC3 (42:16.36).
To round out the day, the tricycles hit the course. Matthew Rodriquez (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) made his Paralympic debut and finished ninth in MT1-2 (32:39.47). Jill Walsh (Syracuse, N.Y.) finished just off the podium in fourth in W1-2 (37:24.20) and Team USA’s Monica Sereda (St. Petersburg, Fla.) ended her day with a seventh-place spot in the same division (40:48.12).
Road cycling continues Wednesday from Fuji International Speedway.
-U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee-