Para-swimming - Jesse Reynolds - Men's 400m Freestyle - S9 - Seventh in heat, did not qualify for final Para cycling-track - Sarah Ellington - Women's C1-3 3000m Individual Pursuit qualifying- Didn't qualify for bronze medal race Para cycling-track - Anna Taylor - Women's C4 3000m Individual Pursuit qualifying - Didn't qualify for bronze medal race Para cycling-track - Nicole Murray - Women's C5 3000m Individual Pursuit qualifying - Qualified with fourth fastest time to race in bronze medal race Wheelchair rugby - Wheel Blacks - Pool Phase Group B - USA beat NZ 63-35 Para cycling-track - Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit (C5), bronze medal race - Nicole Murray - lost to France's Marie Patouillet to finish 4th
The New Zealand contingent made a rocky start to their campaign in Tokyo today, with athletes taking centre stage in the pool, at the velodrome and on the wheelchair rugby court.
Kiwi cyclist Nicole Murray led the way with her performance in the women's 3000m individual pursuit (C5), qualifying for the bronze medal race with the fourth-fastest time.
It was a tight race in the bronze medal showdown for the majority of the contest, with about half a second separating her and French counterpart Marie Patouillet heading into the final 1000m. However, Patouillet finished stronger of the two, crossing the line more than five seconds ahead of Murray.
Nicole Murray of New Zealand in action. Photo / Getty
In the S1-3 class, Sarah Ellington's heat time of 4min 12.506sec saw her finish in 11th place, while Anna Grace Taylor finished fifth in the C4 class with a time of 3min 54.167sec.
New Zealand's Sarah Ellington in action. Photo / Getty
For the first time since 2008, New Zealand qualified for the Paralympic Games' wheelchair rugby event and received the tough draw of facing 2016 silver medallists USA first up.
Tainafi Lefono of Team New Zealand is tackled by Charles Melton of Team United States. Photo / Getty
The Wheel Blacks were playing from behind the whole game after USA got off to a flying start, scoring the first three goals of the game. The USA led 29-17 at halftime, before pushing the lead right out in the third quarter.
Ultimately, the Americans claimed a comfortable 63-35 win. The New Zealand team will now turn their attention to their next match, against Great Britain tomorrow night.
Jesse Reynolds was the first Kiwi in action in the pool, finishing seventh in his heat in the men's 400m freestyle (S9) event.
Kiwi Jesse Reynolds takes part in the men's S9 400m freestyle heats. Photosport
Coming up tomorrow
In 2016, Sophie Pascoe claimed her 15th Paralympic Games medal to become New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. Now, she's looking to further her legacy.
The Kiwi swimmer will begin her fourth Paralympic Games campaign tomorrow when she hits the pool for the second heat of the women's 100m breaststroke (SB8).
The two heats and the eight-woman final are being held on the same day, meaning the 28-year-old will be straight in the hunt for her 10th gold medal, coming into the breaststroke event with the fastest qualifying time of the field.
After competing in six events in London in 2012, Pascoe dropped her schedule to five events in Rio de Janeiro, dropping the 100m breaststroke from her programme. In Tokyo, she'll be competing in five events again, with tomorrow's breaststroke event replacing the 50m freestyle in which she claimed silver in 2016.
Pascoe will also compete in the 100m freestyle (S9), 100m backstroke (S9), 100m butterfly (S9) and the 200m individual medley (SM9). Pascoe comes into the Tokyo Games having claimed gold in the 200m IM (SM10) at each of the past three Games and will be looking to add a win in the SM9 qualification this time around.
While Pascoe has competed in all five of the disciplines of the sport at the Games in the past, Tokyo will be different as she is competing in a new classification in each of the events she has entered. There are 10 different sport classes for athletes with a physical impairment; a lower number indicates a more severe activity limitation than a higher number.
