Paralympics 2024 Para-Cycling: Jyoti Gaderiya bows out in heats

India's track cyclist Jyoti Garderiya finishes in last place in the women's C1-3 3000m track cycling event, at the Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, in Paris, on Thursday. 

Competing in her first Paralympic Games, the former rower turned cyclist went up against Colombia's Munevar Florez in the first heats of the event. 

The qualifying heats saw two athletes go head to head and then the rankings were based on their final timings. 

The top two finishes will race in the gold medal race whereas the third and fourth-placed para-athletes will compete for the bronze medal. 

Florez had a strong start and took the early lead and maintained it throughout the race, even going past Jyoti twice in the twelve laps she took on the track. 

The Colombian completed her race in 4:14.667s and Jyothi finished hers in 4:53.929s, almost 40 seconds after Florez finished her race. 

The qualifying heats saw three world records being created, in what was an extraordinary display of athleticism and skill by the para-athletes.

China's Xiaomei Wang (3:44.660s) and Great Britain's Daphne Schrager (3:45.133s) will compete in the gold medal race, both breaking world records in the C3 and C2 categories respectively. 

Germany's Maike Hausberger, who broke the world record in the C2 category in her race (3:49.444s), only for it to be broken by Schrager two heats later, will compete for the bronze medal against Switzerland's Flurina Rigling. 

Jyoti, who became the first Indian to compete in Track Cycling at the Paralympics, finished in last place in the final ranking.