Canada’s Jesse Zesseu won silver in his Paralympic debut on Friday in the men’s discus F37 final at the Paris Games.
The 25-year-old earned Canada’s 21st medal and seventh silver in Paris after beating the reigning Paralympic champion for second place.
Zesseu, from Toronto, finished behind Uzbekistan’s Tolibboy Yuldashev after launching his sixth and final throw 53.24 metres.
SILVER SMILE FROM JESSE ZESSEU
Jesse Zessue bursting with pride over his silver medal performance in his Paralympic debut.
But before this he was overrun with emotion, telling me his family immigrated to Canada 20 years ago this week. Now he wins silver for Canada. Outstanding. pic.twitter.com/woKiTXasmE
Zesseu’s third throw of 52.81m was ultimately enough to secure the silver medal, as Pakistan’s Ali Haider fell 0.7 metres short of the mark on his last chance to defend his title.
Yuldashev, who also won shot put bronze in Paris, closed out Friday’s final with a personal-best throw of 57.28m, but he had already assured himself the gold medal on his penultimate attempt (56.03m).
Zesseu was born with cerebral palsy after suffering a stroke at birth.
The medal means Canada has now matched its medal total from the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
