Rio 2016: Day six preview

Middle distance races dominate the agenda at the Olympic Stadium, with a series of thrilling clashes set to steal the headlines.

While Tatyana McFadden will start as strong favourite in the women’s 1,500m T54, she faces plenty of competition. World champion Hongzhuan Zhou will be hard to pass, while Switzerland’s Manuela Schaer will also be strong.

Brazil’s Odair Santos won silver in the men’s 1,500m T11 at London 2012 but, after winning the world title last October, he will be determined to cross the tape first in front of his home crowd.

In the women’s 200m T11, Great Britain’s Libby Clegg broke the world record of Brazil’s defending champion Terezinha Guilhermina earlier this year – and with world champion Cuiqing Liu also racing, this could be a thriller.

Elsewhere, Brazil will continue their quest for football 5-a-side gold when they face Iran, and the first gold medal of Para equestrian dressage will be handed out in the individual test grade III.

South Africa’s Philippa Johnson-Dwyer will compete in her third Paralympic Games in Rio, having made a golden debut by taking both individual gold medals in Beijing 2008. The medals did not come her way in London 2012 but, with a strong 2016 season under her belt so far, she will hope to back on the podium.

In shooting, China’s Cuiping Zhang, the reigning world champion and record holder in the R8 (women’s 50m rifle three position SH1), is searching for consecutive golds in the event.

Ukraine’s Vasyl Kovalchuk and Finland’s Minna Leinonen are expected to produce a tense battle for the R5 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2) gold.

At the Aquatics Stadium, the women’s 400m freestyle S6 is set to be one of the most exciting events of the Paralympic Games. Ukrainian world champion Yelyzaveta Mereshko beat Great Britain’s Paralympic title-holder Eleanor Simmonds at the 2015 Worlds, the first time the Briton has experienced defeat since 2008 in this event.

Simmonds then broke the world record in April, swiftly followed by Mereshko in May. In the women’s 100m freestyle S10, New Zealand’s Paralympic and world champion Sophie Pascoe faces a close battle with Canada’s Aurelie Rivard.

Brazil’s double Paralympic champion Andre Brasil is the man to beat in the men’s 100m freestyle S10. He won his first major title in 2006 and has won at every World Championships and Paralympic Games since.

Finally, Croatia’s former Olympian Sandra Paovic will go for gold in her Paralympic debut in the women’s singles class 6 table tennis.

Paovic was in a life-threatening car accident in 2009, but has bounced back to be crowned the reigning world and European champion.