The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics started with Tuesday’s opening ceremony, welcoming close to 4,400 athletes, including 177 Australians and 46 Greek representatives.

Day one started off with a bang for both nations, with Greece taking out two bronze and Australia taking out 10 medals overall, six of which are gold.

Team Australia’s tremendous effort has placed the country at the top of the medal tally.

Greece’s Panagiotis Triantafyllou took out third in the wheelchair individual fencing category, whilst Dimosthenis Michalentzakis took the bronze in the men’s 100m freestyle S8.

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Triantafyllou overcame Frenchman Maxime Valet 15-6 to score Greece’s first medal for these Paralympics. This was his third Paralympics entrance, having competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and at the 2016 Summer Paralympics where he had won the silver in men’s sabre B event.

President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis both shares their praises for the athletes via social media.

“Congratulations to Panagiotis Triantafyllou and Dimosthenis Michalentzakis for the bronze medals in fencing and swimming at the Tokyo Paralympic Games! We are proud of our athletes who by their example give strength to all of us,” Ms Sakellaropoulou said in a Twitter post.

“Warm congratulations to our Paralympians, Panagiotis Triantafyllou for winning the bronze medal in fencing, and Dimosthenis Michalentzakis for the bronze medal in swimming in the 100m. You made all Greeks proud!” Mr Mitsotakis posted.

Paige Greco won the first gold medal for the green and gold camp with a world record time.

The 24-year-old finished at the top of the podium in the women’s C1-3 3000 metre individual cycling pursuit with a final time of three minutes and 50.815 seconds.

Emily Petricola also brought an early gold for team Australia, despite a shaky start in the women’s C4 3000m individual cycling

The 41-year-old Queenslander was .951 of a second down after the first lap but caught up in the last kilometre.

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Four more golds were won that day, all in the pool which seemed to to be an Aussie strong point in the Olympics too.

Rowan Crothers took out the men’s 50m freestyle S10, followed by Ben Popham in the men’s 100m freestyle S8 and William Martin in the men’s 400m freestyle S9.

Lakeisha Patterson topped off the day one Aussie golds, taking first place in the women’s 400m freestyle S9.

Other Australian podium finishes included Paige Leonhardt who scored the silver in the women’s 100m butterfly S14, and
Benjamin James Hance, Alexander Tuckfield and Ruby Storm who also took home bronze in the pool.