Reclusive North Korea on Tuesday made its maiden appearance at the Paralympic Games but swimmer Rim Ju-Song trailed in last in his S6 50m freestyle swimming heat. Wild card entry Rim, a left arm and left leg amputee after a construction site accident at the age of six, finished the straight sprint at the Aquatics Centre in east London in 47.87secs, nearly 18sec behind the heat winner. But the 16-year-old Rim said he was proud to have competed for his country — and immediately set his sights high for the next Games in four years’ time. “I’m very honoured to be the first Paralympian. I’m encouraged that many people cheered for me today. I want to be the gold medallist in the next Paralympic Games in Rio.” North Korea won four gold medals and two bronze at London Olympics, finishing 20th in the overall medal table to register the country’s best performance since Barcelona in 1992.
