DePaul shot put star Noelle Malkamaki wins Paralympic gold, sets world record
CHICAGO (CBS) -- DePaul University graduate Noelle Malkamaki is bringing home a gold medal with a world record in the shot put at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Malkamaki broke her own world record in the Women's F46 shot put final with a throw of 14.06 meters. She'd set the previous world record this summer at the U.S. Paralympic trials.
She's also a two-time Para Athletics world champion in shot put.
Before competing in track & field and volleyball at DePaul, Malkamaki was a high school athlete in Decatur in central Illinois.
Her right hand never developed due to a congenital disorder, but didn't start competing in parasports until a couple years ago in college.
The Paralympic Games kicked off on Aug. 28, and will run through Sept. 8.
The first medal of the Games went to Netherlands para cyclist Caroline Groot, who set both a world record and a Paralympic record in the 500m time trial C4-5. Italy's Francesco Bocciardo also set a Paralympic record, as the 30-year-old para swimmer brought home a medal in the men's 200m freestyle S5 in his fourth Games. And host nation France got its first gold of the Games courtesy of para swimmer Ugo Didier in the men's 400m freestyle S9.
The first U.S. medal of the Paralympics was a silver earned by para swimmer Elizabeth Marks in the women's 50m freestyle S6; she also collected silver medals in the women's 50m butterfly S6 and 200m individual medley SM6.
As of Wednesday morning, the U.S. has won 24 gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals.