Fifth successive gold for Tunisian shot-putter at Paralympics and US wins first gold

PARIS (AP) — Tunisia’s Raoua Tlili won her fifth consecutive gold medal in shot put at her fifth Paralympics on Friday while the United States captured its first gold.

Tlili's throw of 10.40 meters at the Stade de France was good enough to win the F41 class for a third straight Games. Her first two shot put golds, in Beijing and London, were in the F40 class. The difference is in stature.

She is 1.33-meters (4-foot-4) tall and 34 years old, and proud of her latest achievement.

“It’s not easy as a short-stature person that is of my age ... especially if you compete against opponents who are 22, 25 years old,” Tlili said.

“The Algerians, the Tunisians, everyone who lives in Paris, came and got reunited to watch me. (I heard them saying) ‘Raoua, Raoua, gold, gold.’”

Tlili also won discus gold medals in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

Reigning Paralympic champion and world record holder Gia Pergolini defended her women’s 100-meter backstroke S13 title Friday, claiming the first gold medal for the United States.

Competing in her second event in Paris, Pergolini, who is from Atlanta, opened her signature race fast and fought off fatigue over the final 15 meters to finish in a time of 1 minute, 04.93 seconds.

“Usually for my 100 back, I know I go out really fast and my mindset was you’re going to go out really fast anyway so just pace yourself,” she said. "I’ve done this so many times so it’s kind of second nature to me."

The first para-athletics gold of the Paralympics was claimed by Brazil’s Julio Cesar Agripino in the men’s 5,000-meter T11 event for runners with a near-total visual impairment.

In a closely contested race, he broke the world record with a time of 14 minutes, 48.85 seconds, edging Japan’s Kenya Karasawa by three seconds, and fellow Brazilian Yeltsin Jacques, the previous world record-holder.

"Today, it's my day, my title. It means a lot,” Agripino said.

France claimed its second gold medal of the Games with cyclist Alexandre Léauté’s triumph in the men’s C2 3,000-meter individual pursuit.

Léauté, who also won gold in Tokyo, won by two seconds from Ewoud Vromant of Belgium, delighting the home crowd at the vélodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Brazil's men's goalball team started its title defense with a 13-8 win over the United States in group play.

Goalball is for the vision impaired, and the three-member teams wear blackout glasses. The goals are nine-meters wide. The crowd must be silent so the players can hear the ball with bells inside.

Leomon Moreno led Brazil with six points. A veteran of four Paralympic Games, Moreno praised the high level of goalball in Brazil. “I’m very glad, because I can keep myself playing with these guys,” he said.

AP sports writer Tom Nouvian, and Gabriella Etienne and Ana Escamilla, students in the undergraduate certificate program at the Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia, contributed.

AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

U.S. goalball athlete Zion Walker blocks a shot in practice at the U.S. High Performance Center during the Paralympic Games in Paris on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Team USA kept their facility open after the conclusion of the Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Mady Mertens)

Japan's Katsuya Hashimoto, left, looks to score during the U.S. vs Japan preliminary match of wheelchair rugby, at the Paralympic Games in Paris, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Japan won 45-42. (AP Photo/Avni Trivedi)

Paralympic athlete Zia Zhou, of China, wins the Women's 100m -T35 final, at the Stade de France stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Israel's Adam Berdichevsky returns the ball to Italy's Luca Arca during their 2024 Paralympics men's Wheelchair singles tennis tournament first round match at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France, Friday Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Paralympic athletes compete at Women's 5000m - T54 round 1, at the Stade de France stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Paralympic athlete Arjola Dedaj, of Italy, competes at Women's Long Jump -T11, in the Stade de France stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Puerto Rico and Curaçao may be small islands, but the support they showed was massive as elite center fielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Both joined slugging second baseman Jeff Kent as the newest members before an estimated crowd of 12,000 fans at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, with 57 other Hall of Famers on stage — creating the largest gathering of current Hall of Famers.

Jones’ speech was almost like a love letter to his home country of Curaçao.

“There’s no easy way to get here from the small island of Curaçao, more than 2,000 miles away,” Jones said. “But today Cooperstown and Curaçao are forever joined together.”

The longtime Atlanta Braves outfielder, a 10-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star, is the first player from Curaçao to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But he said he doesn't plan on being the last. He pointed to players who have followed him, including Ozzie Albies and Kenley Jansen, as part of the Curaçao legacy started by Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens.

Among the highlights, Jones’ tribute to his late father, Henry Jones, stood out. He said his father used to hit him flyballs from foul pole to foul pole to teach him how to track the ball, and how to build strong wrists by rolling a sledgehammer.

“Everything he taught me had a purpose,” Jones said. “Henry Jones was a legend in Curaçao, a great player in his own right. And I’m not standing here in Cooperstown without his constant coaching. Dad, we did it.”

Chants of “Puerto Rico” broke out before Beltrán even uttered a word. And whenever he mentioned his home island, the crowd cheered for him and waved flags.

“Everywhere I played baseball, I always tried to represent my island,” Beltrán said. “I tried to do the best I could for the organizations that I played, but also I wanted to represent Puerto Rico.”

The 20-year veteran and 1999 AL Rookie of the Year ran through each organization he played for, thanking them for the different lessons each provided. The New York Mets received the most praise.

“When people ask me about why I chose (the Mets) cap, I have to say this,” he said. “Guys, it’s simple. Every organization shapes your career. New York shaped my life.”

When discussing the teams he played for, Beltrán gave specific examples from some of his stops, including watching teammates Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell “play with pain” in Houston. But he did not mention winning the World Series with the Astros in 2017. That title carries controversy because of an illegal sign-stealing scheme and Beltrán's involvement in it.

Beltrán did not directly address the scandal, but did comment on those who may or may not have voted for him for whatever reasons.

“To the Baseball Writers' Association of America, I want to say thank you for making me a Hall of Famer. ... And for those that didn’t (vote for me) — that saw things different — I want to say also thank you. I appreciate your perspective,” he said. “If baseball has really taught me something, I want to say is that I hope in life, we continue to measure ourselves by the same standard we have used to measure others.”

Beltrán earned 84.2% of the vote from the BBWAA to make the Hall on his fourth try. Jones garnered 78.4% in his ninth year of eligibility, eclipsing the 75% needed for induction. Kent was elected by a much smaller panel last December, the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, after dropping off the BBWAA ballot when his eligibility ran out in 2023.

The 2000 NL MVP with the San Francisco Giants played for six teams over his 17-year career and set the all-time home run mark for second basemen. A hard-nosed player, Kent showed a softer side during induction weekend.

Before even speaking, Kent needed tissues to wipe the tears from his eyes after looking at his parents in the crowd, he said in a post-ceremony news conference.

“I was more emotional for the 35, 40 minutes of sitting down than I was for the speech,” he said. “I thought I was going to be a wreck and I’m glad it was only a half a wreck.”

In his speech, Kent told a story of how his baseball career turned when his father offered him a deal: if he earned a college scholarship, he would buy him a pickup truck. Kent quit racing motorcycles and shifted his focus to school and baseball and eventually earned a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley.

In turn, he got a pickup truck he still has.

“It sits in my garage as a simple reminder that some of the simplest things can change the entire direction of your life,” Kent said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Jeff Kent wipes away tears during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Carlos Beltran waves a Puerto Rican flag while speaking during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Andruw Jones supporters wait for the start of the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Puerto Rico and Carlos Beltran supporters pose for pictures with a Puerto Rican flag before the start of the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Jeff Kent, left, Andruw Jones, center, and Carlos Beltran pose for pictures after the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)