Paralympics 2012: China`s gold rush continues

London: China kept up its gold-taking momentum here at the Paralympics, boosting its gold total to 83.

The Asian giant clinched 13 gold medals on Friday. Meanwhile, Australian swimmer Jacqueline Freney stunned the world with a grand slam of eight golds from her eight events attended. China, which topped the gold tally of Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 with 63 and 89 golds respectively, is leading the London 2012 table with 83 gold, 65 silver and 58 bronze medals. They are followed by hosts Britain with 32-40-42 and Russia in third position with 32-35-25. With only two days left, China is sure to be on top of the medal standings. The only question is if China can add more to the tally. On Day nine of competition, China`s clinched six golds from track and field, three from swimming, two from table tennis, and one each from wheelchair fencing and women`s sitting volleyball. The Chinese women`s sitting volleyball team beat the US 3-1 in the final to achieve a hat-trick from Athens 2004 to London 2012. China`s 15-year-old swimmer Yang Yang won the men`s 50m freestyle to be the top Chinese medallist here with four golds. But the most shining star in the Paralympic pool was Freney, who was crowned in the women`s 4x100m medley to get her eighth gold out of her eight competing events in London. The 20-year-old Australian, who suffers from cerebral palsy, stood on top of podium of all the eight events she attended, fulfilling an incredible grand slam. She also refreshed three world records in London and is sure to be the top medallist of the London Paralympics. Her eight events were women`s 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 200m individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay, and 4x100m medley relay, all in S7 class. IANS