New Zealand has had an astonishingly successful Rio Paralympics so far, collecting 16 medals and currently sitting ninth overall on the table.While swimmer Sophie Pascoe is undeniably the Kiwi Queen of the Games, winning three golds and two silvers in the pool, it is Nelson runner Liam Malone who has emerged as the people's champion.Malone, 22, has won gold in the T44 200m race in Rio, and silver in the T44 100m.His time of 21.06 seconds in the 200m final broke the Paralympic record set by the original 'Blade Runner', South African Oscar Pistorius. Pistorius' time was 21.30.Malone was born with fibular hemimelia in both legs, which is the absence of the fibula bone. Both his lower legs were amputated below the knee when he was 18 months.Kiwi Paralympic champion Liam Malone claiming silver in the T44 100m final in Rio this week. Source: Youtube.To compete in Rio, Malone crowd-sourced NZ$20,000 to buy a first-class pair of running 'blades' and stated that he wanted to medal in the Paralympics to pay back the generosityof his hometown.Outside his athletic achievements, Malone has made a name for himself as a hard case interview.Speaking to TVNZ earlier this week, he talked about his long competitive friendship with Pascoe: "she used to beat me at everything, so she throws a lot of chat at me about how she's still better than me. She stabs a few holes in the heart, and it brings back some bad memories."On the 100m race: "I hate the 100. The single-leg guys dominate it."On telling a few porkies about how he lost his lower legs: "whenever I meet people, I always spin the biggest yarns. Like I lost my legs to a Great White Shark, off Seal Island in South Africa."Malone's incredible Paralympic campaign continued this morning, when he qualified for the T44 400m final tomorrow. The Nelson runner considers the event to be his best.
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