Swimmers open Russia’s golden account at London Paralympics

Russian swimmers Sergey Punko and Oksana Savchenko have won their country's first gold medals at the London Paralympics.

Punko was unmatched in the men’s 400m Freestyle – S12 as the 31-year-old left second-placed Enrique Floriano four seconds behind. Savchenko triumphed in the same discipline in the women’s competition, beating home crowd favorite Hannah Russell by 0.7 seconds. Russia’s very first medal in London came in the men’s -48kg powerlifting. Vladimir Balynetc coped with the weight of 170 kilograms, but was surpassed by Yakubu Adesokan, who set the new world record by lifting 10 kilograms more.Judoka Victoria Potapova also climbed on the podium, grabbing bronze in the women’s -48kg category.  Meanwhile, it’s China, who took the lead in the medal’s count, with 14 medals (5 golds, 6 silver, 3 bronze) after the first day of action. Team Russia currently occupy the sixth spot in the standings, with 2 gold, a bronze and a silver.