Larne woman Claire Taggart will battle for the individual gold medal at the World Boccia Championships in Rio on Saturday after winning her semi-final.
Taggart, 27, beat Mexico’s Karina Martinez Sandoval 7-1 to set up a decider against El Salvador’s world number seven Rebecca Duarte.
“I am delighted to have got to the final,” said Great Britain’s Taggart after her semi-final victory.
“I’m happy with the way I’ve played and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Earlier, Taggart was given a walkover in her quarter-final after her opponent from Hong Kong was forced to withdraw from the competition.
Taggart is among two Britons who will be in finals action on Saturday after three-time Paralympic gold medallist and defending champion David Smith won his semi-final in the men’s individual competition.
Britain’s performance director Greg Baker heaped praise on the duo’s performances.
“David and Claire have been outstanding and shown what great athletes they are,” he said.
“We have two world championship individual finalists for the first time since 2010.
“We have that to look forward to and the team and pairs event then starts the following day, which will be important not only as it’s a world championships but it’s crucial for Paris qualification points,” Baker added.
Earlier this year, Taggart secured her first World Cup titles in Portugal as she won individual gold and then helped Great Britain clinch the bc1/2 team gold.
Taggart made history by becoming the first person from Northern Ireland to compete at the Paralympics in the sport of boccia at Rio in 2016 and went to participate again at the delayed Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
