The wheelchair racer, from Albury, was unable to challenge for the medals having done superbly to qualify for her second final of the Games.

Ault-Connell, 39, is back on the Paralympic stage for the first time in 17 years and she raced from lane two on a very wet night in the Japanese capital.

A gap started to open up on the back straight, with Ault-Connell battling for the minor placings while a real tussle developed at the head of the race.

It was Manuela Schaer who took gold for Switzerland in 53.59 seconds, with Cheri Madsen (USA) and Zhaogian Zhou (China) taking silver and bronze respectively to complete the podium.

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Ault-Connell crossed the line in 56.54, improving on the time she set in the heats earlier in the day, while fourth-placed American Tatyana McFadden narrowly missed out on her 20^th Paralympic medal.

Tomorrow, on the final day of competition, Ault-Connell takes on her third event of the Games, the women's T54 marathon.

"I'm going to race the smartest, the physically hardest race I can possibly give and give my all to be able to make that happen," Ault-Connell said.

"I want it for myself but I also want it for my children.

"I want it for all of the incredible people that have supported me on the journey."

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