United States will meet Australia in the second semifinal after qualif

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its been quite a couple of weeks for Ahmed Shafik, the lone U.S. powerlifter at the Rio Paralympics.His wife delivered the couples second son early, shortly before the games began last Wednesday, and Shafik, an Iraqi immigrant, competed in his second -- and he says final -- Paralympics.Despite a seventh-place finish in the 80-kilogram (176-pound) weight class on Monday, lifting 172 kilograms (379 pounds), Rio was a satisfying end to a long journey for Shafik.It was overwhelming for me because everybody was watching me and expecting good results and its a big weight on my back to be the only lifter from the United States, Shafik said.Born in Baghdad, Shafik contracted polio as a baby, which weakened his legs. Despite the disability, he can walk normally and do many other activities.Still, he qualified for the Paralympics in powerlifting, the games single weightlifting discipline, in which competitors lie on a bench and raise hundreds of pounds just with their upper bodies.Shafik was inspired to first start weightlifting when growing up and watching his father, Abdul, compete and set records for the Iraqi national team.Shafik followed in his fathers footsteps and qualified for the national team that competed in the 1998 IPC World Championships. But he fled the country after the Iraqi Olympic authorities, led by Saddam Husseins son, Uday, imprisoned and abused Shafik and his teammates for unsatisfactory performances.He then went to Jordan before making his way to the United States in 2001, where he was given refugee status. He didnt start powerlifting again until 2007.I wanted to have fun, thats always my main motivation, I always try and have fun while Im competing and representing the United States, Shafik said. And I think this games were much better than London because I got good results this time and it meant a lot for me.A U.S. Army veteran and mechanical engineer, Shafik is now settled in Tucson, Ariz. His wife was due to deliver their second son during the Paralympics. But the baby arrived early, and Shafik was able to be at the birth.Ive been seeing him every day through video chat and everythings good, he said.After his final lift, the 43-year-old Shafik tugged on his singlet and pointed to the American flag while the mostly Brazilian crowd cheered, as they do for most competitors.Moments later, Shafik said these games were his last competition, and he would be retiring from powerlifting. But he intends to stay close to the sport and work alongside coaches to help teach the next generation of lifters.Hopefully by 2020 we get more lifters on the team because one lifter in this Paralympics from the greatest country in the world, in my opinion, isnt enough, he said.But before all that, Shafik is excited to get back home to his newly expanded family and relish all the support he has received over the past couple of days.Its just overwhelming, hearing from everybody at home and on social media, Facebook, everything else, Shafik said. (The support) has been overwhelming. Theyre cheering for me, wishing me good luck and it seriously means a lot to me.---Anna Pitingolo is a journalism student at Penn State University. Penn State and Georgia are partnering with The Associated Press to supplement coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. Joe Mullen Jersey . Hey!" 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Great Britain clocked a world record in qualifying fastest in the womens team pursuit on day one of action in the Rio Olympic Velodrome.Joanna Rowsell Shand, Laura Trott, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald set a world record in the four-rider, four-kilometres team pursuit.The quartet finished in four minutes 13.260 seconds to qualify for Saturdays first round, which is effectively a semifinal.Britain will meet Canada and must merely beat them to advance to the final. Canada qualified in four minutes 19.599secs, more than six seconds behind Britain.The United States will meet Australia in the second semifinal after qualifying four minutes 14.286 seconds.Sarah Hammer, Chloe Dygert, Jennifer Valente and Kelly Catlin, who won a first-ever world title for the U.S. in the event earlier this year, started last of nine teams and averaged 56.639 kph in the first womens event held at the Olympic Velodrome. Super excited, gott the nerves out for everybody, said three-time Olympian and team leader Hammer.ddddddddddddAustralia, who set the world record in Paris in February 2015 but crashed in training earlier this week, finished in four minutes 19.059 seconds.There were signs of strain, too, though, from Sir Bradley Wiggins, beginning his bid for a fifth Olympic gold and British record eighth in all with qualifying in the mens team pursuit.He showed annoyance at being summoned by commissaires measuring the aerodynamic bars of the bikes. The officials measured his height and he made a rude gesture with each hand.Riders over 1m 90cm in height are permitted 85cm aerodynamic bars, 5cm longer than smaller riders. Wiggins is 6ft 3ins or 1m 90.5cm. He was not the only British rider to have their measurements taken. ' ' '