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paralympics

Three-time Paralympian Arnold Boldt stands in the House of Commons with the Paralympic torch on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday March 3, 2010.Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press

Arnold Boldt, a legendary one-legged high jumper from Saskatoon, made his sixth Paralympic appearance Thursday in London – but this one was on a bike.

While the 54-year-old's first Paralympic cycling race didn't have the podium finish he's accustomed to in athletics (he placed 25th out of 28 in the men's individual one-kilometre time trial at the Olympic Park velodrome), he shaved a couple seconds off his best time. "I'm chuffed to be here," said Boldt, who holds seven gold medals and one silver in high jump and long jump.

It's been 20 years since Boldt's last Paralympics. Originally an alternate for the Canadian cycling team, he earned his spot this month after Alexandre Carrier of Matane, Que., bowed out because of a nagging knee injury. "This is the loudest venue I've been in, probably in my life," said Boldt, who began competitive cycling in 2009.

Meantime, Paralympic rookie Marie-Claude Molnar of Lemoyne, Que., narrowly missed a bronze medal in the women's individual pursuit, placing fourth.

The 28-year-old Concordia University graduate, who suffered a brain injury when a car struck her in 2005, won bronze at the 2011 Parapan American Games in the same event."I am still happy because there was an improvement on my best time on sea level," she said

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