Paris Paralympics Sept. 6 recap, highlights: Hunter Woodhall electrifies the track, U.S. to play for wheelchair basketball gold (2024)

Each and every day of the 2024 Paris Paralympics, NBCOlympics.com will keep you updated with the biggest stories from across the Paralympic landscape. Competition can be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com and Peaco*ck — visit the schedule page for more details.

Here's what you should know from the ninth day of competition at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games:

• Ageless wonders Sarah Storey and Barbara Bieganowska-Zajac each won gold medals to bolster their legendary résumés. Storey won gold in the women's C4-5 road race final for her 30th career Paralympic medal. Bieganowska-Zajac defended her women's 1500m T20 title for the fourth consecutive Paralympics.
• Americans Derek Loccident and Michael Brannigan added to Team USA's impressive haul of para track and field medals. Brannigan took bronze in the men's 1500m T20 final, finishing behind new world record holder Ben Sandilands of Great Britain.
• The U.S. women's wheelchair basketball team will play for gold, thanks to a three-point, come-from-behind win over China. Rose Hollermann's 20 points and a massive rebounding advantage assured the American victory, which avenged their Tokyo Paralympic loss to China. They'll face the defending champion Netherlands in the final.
• Japan's Yui Kamiji took down world No. 1 Diede de Groot of the Netherlands, a five-time Paralympic medalist, to win gold in the women's wheelchair tennis singles final, while the British team of Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid triumphed in the men's doubles final on Court Philippe Chatrier.
• A strong day in the pool for Team USA saw gold medals won by Leanne Smith and Christie Raleigh Crossley and silver medals for Ali Truwit and Noah Jaffe.

Just one month ago, Hunter Woodhall sat trackside at the Stade de France, cheering on as his wife, Tara Davis-Woodhall, as she draped herself in gold in the women's long jump. In a poetic reversal of roles, on Friday it was Tara in the stands watching, and cheering, as Hunter made his own golden moment.

Woodhall won the men's 400m T62 final with a time of 46.36 seconds, clinching his fifth Paralympic medal and first gold and sparking an emotional celebration between husband and wife.

"It's been so hard to keep the emotions under control with just everything that's gone on the past few weeks. It's surreal," Woodhall said. "I've got to give a shoutout to Tara, she won the gold medal and humbled herself for three weeks, waiting for me, waiting to celebrate that moment, instilling confidence, energy and emotion in me. I can't thank her enough."

Earlier on the track, a historic men's 1500m T20 final highlighted the morning action at Stade de France. Great Britain's Ben Sandilands won gold in world record fashion, crossing the line in 3:45.40 to squeeze by the record of 3:45.50 set in 2017 by American Michael Brannigan.

"I knew I had it [in me] from all my training," Sandilands said. "I got the race right tactically and just went for it."

On Friday, Brannigan finished four seconds behind Sandilands to take home bronze, which is the second Paralympic medal of his career. Portugal's Sandro Baessa secured silver with a lifetime best of 3:49.46.

Moments after the men's final, the women's 1500m T20 final featured a familiar name topping the podium: Poland's Barbara Bieganowska-Zajac, 43, won her fourth consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the event. The Polish icon coasted to victory in 4:26.06 to add to a sensational Paralympic career that began at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Records then continued to fall as American Derek Loccident set a new men's high jump T64 Paralympic record, clearing 2.06 meters to claim silver. Loccident's leap fell just .02m shy of gold medalist Kumar Praveen of India. For Loccident, a 26-year-old from Oklahoma City, the silver marks his first Paralympic medal.

Sarah Storey's Paralympic career began at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, where she took home six swimming medals at age 14.

A generation later in Paris, the British legend claimed her 19th career gold medal, winning the women's C4-5 road race final in a razor-thin finish, edging France's Heidi Gaugain.

Storey, competing in her ninth Paralympic Games this summer, continues to catapult up the list of all-time great Paralympians. She now owns 30 medals and hasn't ruled out competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, when she'll be 50 years old.

"I need to enjoy this one first, to quote Simone Biles," Storey said. "But absolutely never say never to anything. But this just needs to sink in. It was actually one of the most exciting races that we had. From the word go it was full gas."

After trailing by three at halftime, the U.S. women's wheelchair basketball team stormed back to eke out a 50-47 win over China and storm into Sunday's gold medal game.

With the win, the Americans avenged their narrow semifinal loss to the Chinese at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, where the U.S. took bronze. Rose Hollermann powered the Americans with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Becca Murray and Ixhelt Gonzalez chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. The U.S. smothered China on the glass, outrebounding their opponents 39-28.

The U.S. will face the Netherlands, who beat Canada 72-61 in the other semifinal, for the gold. The Netherlands is the reigning Paralympic and world champion.