Teenage New Zealand runner William Stedman has won bronze in his men's 400m sprint at the Rio Paralympics.
NZ para-runner William Stedman. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The 16-year-old's third place finish takes New Zealand's overall tally to 19 medals, one more than the team had targeted in Rio.
Paralympic debutant Stedman was just behind the silver medallist Roman Pavlyk (Ukraine) with a time of 55.67.
The gold medal was won by Paul Blake (Great Britain) in a time of 54.49.
Stedman has a form of Cerebral Palsy and was inspired to get involved in para-athletics after travelling through London as a 13-year-old on a family holiday around the time of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
His parents fondly remember him watching the Games on TV and asking whether he could go to the Paralympics one day.
He began training as soon as he returned to New Zealand.
-RNZ
