Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance
Hannah Cockroft underlined why she is one of wheelchair sprinting’s greatest ever athletes after effortlessly defending her 100m T34 crown to win her eighth Paralympic title. And in doing so added to Britain’s haul of 12 gold medals on Sunday – the most in a single day this century.
For someone who has only lost once in this event since bursting onto the scene at the London 2012 Olympics, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Cockroft would power her way to victory and edge closer to Tanni Grey-Thompson’s medal tally of 11 golds.
In an illustration of her superiority, her teammate Kare Adenegan finished more than a second behind to take silver in a British one-two. Cockroft’s winning time of 16.80 seconds was slow by her impeccably high standards — and a good half second off her own world record — but it was enough to guarantee a fourth successive Paralympic gold in the event.
Adenegan, who has been Cockroft’s closest challenger in recent years, enjoyed the faster start but Cockroft duly overtook her at the 10 metre mark with her incredible top speed. With her arms pumping like a well-oiled machine, she motored to the finish line in an unrelenting display of pace and power.
Ever the self-critic, no sooner had Cockroft crossed the finish line was she forensically analysing her performance and setting herself fresh objectives, having already signalled her intent to compete at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
“I’ve worked so hard on my start but I’m still not good enough,” she said. “So something to work on for the next four years.”
There are few in elite sport who have reigned supreme in their respective discipline like this straight-talking Yorkshirewoman. The T34 classification is one of the most crammed in wheelchair racing — Paris was the first time in 12 years that heats were staged for this event — but even in a larger field Cockroft remains untouchable.
So of her four Paralympic titles, where does this one rank? “Pretty high,” said Cockroft. “I had a little tear in my eye when I crossed that line because I honestly didn’t know if I’d win it today, this was the scary one.
“I always overestimate Kare and that’s not a bad thing because she’s got a 16.80 seconds and we’ve seen it before, she can produce, so I’m just waiting for that time. It means so much to just be able to hold on for four Olympic Games, not many people get to do that.”
At 23, Adenegan still has some of her best years ahead of her and her time will surely come.
The now eight-time title winner has also said the £38,000 bonus received by Olympic champions could have covered the cost of her upcoming wedding with fellow Paralympian Nathan Maguire, as she called for financial parity in the wake of her latest triumph.
“I’m really lucky, this Games I have some incredible sponsors behind me who are giving me medal bonuses, it’s the first time ever that I’ll have sponsor medal bonuses, so it’s a massive step forward,” she said.
“It’s not thousands but it’s money. But yeah, it’s tough seeing the Olympic guys get the money from World Athletics and then we can’t replicate, it’s frustrating.
“That would really pay for my wedding quite well.
“Ultimately, I do this because I love it. We want parity and that’s what we push for every time.”
Cockroft had been holding out for a double celebration with her fiance, Maguire. He had set a personal best in his 400m T54 heat to reach the final. Cockroft had said it would mean “ten times more” than her own golden achievement if he could win a medal, but it was not to be for Great Britain’s Paralympics power couple.
The 27-year-old finished fourth — a marginal upgrade on his sixth place in Tokyo. The pair will tie the knot after the Games in Cockroft’s hometown of Halifax.
Elsewhere on a “Super Sunday” night for Britain’s para-athletes, Sabrina Fortune won gold in the women’s F20 shot put with a world record-breaking throw of 15.12m and Sammi Kinghorn took silver in the T53 800m.
Meanwhile, on another positive night for Britain’s para-swimmers, Maisie Summers-Newton staved off pressure from Chinese Liu Daomin to claim her second gold of the Games, defending her breaststroke 100m SB6 title.
Grace Harvey triumphed in the SB5 women’s 100m breaststroke final and a strong finish saw Brock Whiston take gold in the SM8 women’s 200m individual medley final, while Alice Tai claimed bronze.
Not long afterward, the S14 mixed relay quartet of William Ellard, Rhys Darbey, Poppy Maskill and Olivia Newman-Baronius, confirmed a historic day by landing GB’s 12th gold with an impressive victory over the chasing Brazillian quartet.
To round off a glorious day in Paris, veteran sprinter Jonnie Peacock returned for his fourth Paralympic Games. The two-time champion sailed through to the final of the T64 men’s 100m.
By Gareth A Davies, in Paris
Relief was the overwhelming emotion for Kadeena Cox as she put her disastrous first-day crash firmly behind her to win gold in the open C1-5 team sprint.
Cox was inconsolable after losing her balance and collapsing onto the track during the 500 metres time trial on Thursday, but three days later she achieved redemption with Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy to successfully defend their title from Tokyo three years ago.
Cox, who produced a powerful start, said she was “proud” of herself and the team while also registering her “relief” after the agony on day one of competition.
It also meant a ninth gold medal for Cundy, at his eighth Paralympics, with six podium-topping finishes in cycling and three in swimming.
“It’s hard to believe that I’ve got nine gold medals. I couldn’t have imagined where I’d be when I started this journey in 1996. Another gold medal around my neck and it’s fabulous,” said 45-year-old Cundy.
Gold on gold for ‘Mr Indestructable’
Van Gass, a former Parachute Regiment soldier who was knocked off his bike by a car and hospitalised nine days ago, claimed his second gold medal of these Games and maintained his tag of “Mr Indestructible”.
The Parachute Regiment’s motto is “Utrinque Paratus”, which means ready for anything, and that is exactly what this triumvirate were before, during and even after the lightning-fast three-lap sprint.
“I knew that with everything that’s happened over the last couple of days that these guys would have a fire in their belly,” added Van Gass. “They wanted to get the best ride out and that’s all we needed to do out on the track today.”
The trio dominated the three-lap drop-off relay, finishing 1.826 seconds ahead of their
Spanish counterparts. It was the final race of the Paris track cycling event, the triumphant Great Britain squad heading the table at the velodrome with five gold, six silver and three bronze medals overall.
Elsewhere on Sunday, there were gold medals for James Ball and Steffan Lloyd in the men’s B 1,000 metres time trial. As Ball remarked afterwards, rugby’s loss was cycling’s gain — the pilot rider had trials for Llanelli Scarlets in his teens as a flanker.
There was also a gold for Sophie Unwin and her pilot, Jenny Holl against Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal in the final of the women’s B 3,000m individual pursuit.
12 years since a teenaged Jonnie Peacock silenced the crowds in London with a stunning gold, he’s ready to go again.
He lines up for his first appearance of this, his fourth Games, in the T64 men’s 100m heats. And it is more than good enough from the two-time champ. He finishes the heat in third with a time of 10.93 seconds, not far behind winner Sherman Guity Guity, who crosses the line in a Paralympic record time of 10.72.
That will be enough to qualify for the final. Job done for the GB veteran.
The Stade de France erupts as the starting gun sounds for the men’s 400m T11 final. That’s because France’s Timothee Adolphe is going for gold in front of the home crowd.
The T11 is for athletes with little or no vision, and so each runner is competing alongside a guide. Adolphe rounds the home straight in the lead but an explosive turn from Enderson Santos Gonzalez of Venezuela sees him burst past the Frenchman and take the gold.
Adolphe puts his head in his hands in despair — but there are nothing but shouts of support from the home crowd, who are showing the sprinter and his guide some love.
Two-time Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock is up next.
GB have come up just short against the USA’s wheelchair rugby team in a tough contest in their semi-final. A dominant second quarter helped the US team pull away, a lead that they didn’t let slip. It ends 50-43.
Team GB will now switch focus to their bronze medal matchup against Australia, due to get going at 12.30pm tomorrow. The USA go for gold against Japan later in the day.
GOLD in the 4x100m freestyle relay!!!!!That makes it TWELVE GOLD MEDALS today, the most in a single day this century for ParalympicsGB.What. A. Day.#ParalympicsGB 🥇 pic.twitter.com/BPgW6FZuYM
Krysten Coombs has guaranteed himself at least a silver medal in the SH6 men’s para-badminton singles with a straight-sets victory over Man Kai Chu of Hong Kong.
He’s into the final against Charles Noakes of France on monday.
Record breaking statistic worth recording: today is the first time a GB team has won more than 11 gold medals in one day at the Para Games since records began in Soeul in 1988.
ParalympicsGB are now up to 12 gold medals on Sunday, smashing the previous record of nine in a single day.
Back in the pool at La Defense Arena, it is time for the S14 mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. William Ellard, Rhys Darbey, Poppy Maskill and Olivia Newman-Baronius are the British quartet — and they swim an outstanding race.
They nailed the takeovers, getting the timings of the changes perfect. The Brazillian team were hot on their heels but they managed to maintain the lead throughout. Maskill made a world of difference on her leg. Powering ahead to put some real distance in between GB and the chasing teams.
What a race. It’s another gold for ParalympicsGB. The 12th today.
It is really shaping up to be a super Sunday for GB. Sabrina Fortune wins gold in the women’s F20 shot put with a world record breaking throw of 15.12m. That’s ParalympicsGB’s 22nd gold of the games and second of today’s athletics session.
Fortune produced the record with her very first throw, which bests silver medallist Gloria Agblemagnon of France by over half a metre.
GB’s previous Paralympic gold medallist David Smith has had a difficult evening in the boccia. He is defeated by Indonesia’s Muhamad Syafa 5-3 in his bronze medal match, narrowly missing out on a medal.
He will have another chance to go for a medal along with compatriot Claire Taggart, who also lost her bronze medal match, in the mixed team competition.
The queen of the track reigns supreme once again @HanCockroft 👑#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/F5I0rhLZ1Q
Over at La Defense Arena, Grace Harvey has a great opportunity to make it a hat-trick of gold medals in the pool for ParalympicsGB in the SB5 women’s 100m breaststroke final.
A great dive to start and Harvey hits the front of the pack as they enter the final 50m. She does not panic and holds off pressure from China’s Zhang and Ukraine’s Hontar to take the gold by a stroke-and-a-half in a time of 1:42.33.
GB Sprinter Zak Skinner is up against a tough competition in the men’s 100m T13 final.
The runner-up from Tokyo, Skander Athmani of Algeria, has a sensational race to pip Norway’s world record holder Salum Kashafali to the gold medal.
Athmani pulled away in the final few strides to land a Paralympic record of 10.42 seconds.
Skinner places sixth with a time of 10.93 seconds. He looks disappointed with the result, but will be competing again soon enough in the T13 long jump.
And it is a fourth successive women’s T34 100m Paralympic title for the indominable Hannah Cockroft. Once she got going the outcome was never in doubt. Her acceleration in the second-half of the race cannot be matched. 16.80 seconds — she will be happy with that.
She becomes an eight-time Paralympic champion and becomes the first GB athlete of the Games to ring the bell in the Stade de France.
Not far behind her is team-mate Kare Adenegen, who clocks in at 17.99 seconds for a silver medal.
What a start to the evening for ParalympicsGB.
Great Britain’s Melanie Woods is up next in the 800m T54 final. It is a classification with so much upper-body strength on show.
Manuela Schar has defended her title magnificently. Timing her race perfectly and applying a final burst of speed at just the right time to power to the front of the leading pack and claim the gold by a distance.
Woods put in a strong performance, crossing the line with a new personal best of 1:43.85. It was very quick, but not enough to get to the podium in a very strong field.
That didn’t last long! Great Britain have their first medal on the athletics track, and it’s delivered by Sammi Kinghorn, who upgrades her fourth-placed finish from the Tokyo Games in the T53 800m. She is beaming as she crosses the line.
Kinghorn is the only racer to keep up with pre-race favourite Catherine Debrunner, who is dominant yet again and picks up her second gold of the Games.
Attention turns to the Stade de France for the remainder of the evening, where GB athletes are competing in six medal events. Notably, that includes a certain Hannah Cockroft.
ParalympicsGB are yet to win a medal in the athletics in Paris, although it looks unlikely to stay that way, given the opportunities on offer this evening.
Seven-time Paralympic champion Cockroft is at the pinnacle of her sport and going for her fourth consecutive T34 100m title.
She goes for gold in about 20 minutes time — but first up, Sammi Kinghorn races in the T53 800m final.
Gareth A Davies is back at ParalympicsGB HQ with the victorious athletes after a super Sunday for GB in the rowing events.
You can read his full report on a day filled with gold here.
Back at @ParalympicsGB House with the victorious rowersRead my piece @Telegraph @TelegraphSport here https://t.co/GA5Yqe3Vxc@Paralympics @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/i7r95CM491
ParalympicGB’s women’s wheelchair basketball team suffered a tough loss to China over at Bercy Arena. China were well in control for most of the match and it ends 62-47. That’s three wins from three for them in Group A.
However, GB sit second in the pool and are still heading through to the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Cox, who had a very tough start to the Games with a hard fall on the first day, praises her team-mates Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy after they won a special C1-5 Open team sprint gold medal.
Kadeena Cox is a true champion 💙 #C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Elp4Vf56qg
The swimming finals are coming thick and fast now, and two Team GB swimmers will feature in the next one, the SM8 women’s 200m individual medley final.
Alice Tai and Brock Whiston will both be strong contenders. Whiston is the world record holder in the event and already has a Paralympic silver under her belt from the SM8 100m breastroke final on Friday.
Tai, meanwhile, will be hoping to add to the gold she won in yesterday’s S8 100m backstroke final.
And the pair do not disappoint!
Whiston trailed initially, with Tai way out in front of the pack. But she manages a remarkable turnaround to come from 10 seconds behind her compatriot to clinch the gold. Tai was neck and neck along with Viktoriia Ishchiulova right until the end, but the neutral athlete just pips her to the silver medal.
Callie-Ann Warrington narrowly misses out on a medal in another very competitive final. The GB swimmer came through the heats in second place and set the world record in this event at the Tokyo Games, but was unable to fight to the front of the pack, all 8 of whom were only separated by 1.14 seconds.
Warrington finished not even one tenth of a second from the podium.
But this race is all about Emeline Pierre of France. She takes the gold medal in front of raucous home support at La Defense Arena. They loved that.
Fastest qualifier Aurelie Rivard of Canada finishes second, with Italy’s Alessia Scortechini a fraction behind in the bronze medal place.
A fantastic swim for GB’s Maisie Summers-Newton!
She managed to keep her nose in front despite intense pressure from China’s Liu Daomin. That’s her second gold medal in three days. She pushed so hard on the home stretch and has also landed a new Paralympic record. A whole second quicker than the time she set at the Tokyo Games.
GB’s Callie-Ann Warrington is up next in the S10 100m freestyle final.
In the first of six gold medals up for grabs in the pool this afternoon at La Defense Arena, GB’s Bruce Dee has finished fifth after a intensely competitive race in the men’s SB6 100m breaststroke final, a personal best for the 17-year-old.
China’s Yang Hong sees off Nelson Corzo of Colombia and Yevhenii Bohodaiko of Ukraine to claim both the gold medal and set a new Paralympic record.
GB’s Dan Bethell is now guaranteed to at least match the silver he won at the Tokyo Games. He’s had a comfortable afternoon in his singles SL3 badminton semi-final against Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun.
He cruises through to the final with a 21-7, 21-9 win and will now prepare to play for gold in the early session tomorrow, although that kicks off no sooner than 12pm.
Gregg Stevenson, who won gold alongside Lauren Rowles in the PR2 mixed double sculls this morning, competes in the Paralympics owing to a double leg amputation after being blown up in Afghanistan whilst serving as a Royal Engineer Commando, and only got into the sport in 2018 when he tried out for the Invictus Games.
You can read more about his story, and ParalympicsGB’s dominant morning on the rowing lake, courtesy of our man on the ground, Gareth Davies.
Tokyo badminton silver medallist Daniel Bethell has taken an early lead in his semi-final against Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun in the SL3 classification, jumping to a 7-4 lead early on in the first set. The SL3 competition allows athletes with severe lower disabilities to compete, and with only half a court available rallies can stretch for long periods, there is an increased premium on accuracy in a sport with already limited space.
Meanwhile, China have extended their lead in the women’s wheelchair basketball, GB trailing now by 38-27.
Her C1-5 Open team sprint medal, won alongside Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy, might be the best of her seven Paralympic medals won on both the running and cycling tracks. She’d labelled this game a “nightmare I can’t wake up from” following her crash on the first corner of her C4-5 500m time trial. In fact, she told Gareth Davies that it’s been a “rubbish year” owing to mental health struggles and injury issues, which you can read more about here.
All considered, seeing Cundy come through to win gold must have been a particularly sweet feeling.
We’re not crying, you’re crying 🥹#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 https://t.co/K59f0Ts1x7 pic.twitter.com/9VIfbb0sbF
GB’s female wheelchair basketball team are currently struggling in their group A game against China, trailing 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. A win would be highly appreciated following their poor start to the tournament, a 69-34 thrashing from Spain preceding a 63-54 loss to Canada. It’s an uphill task, however, as China have accumulated a +31 points difference in wins against both of those opponents.
A bottom placed group finish will result in a quarter-final against the winner of group B, which is currently led by the Netherlands.
At 15.40 Daniell Bethell will look to continue his unstoppable form in the SL3 badminton competition. He’s reached a semi-final against Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun without dropping a set…
No pressure to the swimming and athletics teams, just the five cycling medals and four rowing medals won this morning, six of them gold.
In La Defense Arena, Bruce Dee gets the swimming action under-way in the men’s SB6 100m breaststroke final at 16.30, before Maisie Summers-Newton competes in the female equivalent event immediately after. Callie-Ann Warrington is up next for GB, swimming in the women’s S10 100m freestyle final at 16.51, before fan-favourite Alice Tai lines up alongside Brock Whiston in the women’s SM8 200m individual medley final at 17.06. The afternoon is rounded off by Grace Harvey, who competes in the women’s SB5 100m breaststroke final at 18.55, and the 4×100 S14 freestyle relay team at 19.19.
At the Stade de France, athletics action kicks off at 18.00, with Sabrina Fortune featuring in the women’s F20 shot put final. She’ll likely watch on as Sammi Kinghorn goes in the first race of the afternoon, the women’s T53 800m final at 18.04, and again as Melanie Woods races in the T54 iteration of that event at 18.15.
One of the evenings headline events follows, as the indomitable Hannah Cockroft races alongside Kare Adenegan and Fabienne Andre in the T34 100m final at 18.26 – there’s a good chance of an all-British podium here, and a particularly good chance of a Cockroft and Adenegan one-two.
There’s then a bit of a break before Zak Skinner races in the men’s T13 100m final at 18.47, and Cockroft’s fiance Nathan Maguire races in the T54 400m at 19.14. That’s the end of the medal action – six podiums on offer overall, but stay tuned for Jonnie Peacock’s T64 100m heat scheduled for 20.29.
It’s gold!! It was never going to be anything else after an electric start from Cox, the crash that came from a difficult start on Thursday firmly in the rearview mirror! The trio of Cox, van Gass, and Cundy defend their title and add a table-topping fifth gold medal to ParalympicsGB’s track cycling total. A second gold of the games for van Gass, despite being hit by a car just last week.
It’s the final race of the Paris track cycling event, and fittingly it’s the GB trio who win it. Five golds, six silvers, three bronzes overall and an utterly dominant ride to win, 1.826 seconds ahead of their Spanish counterparts over just three laps.
Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass, and Jody Cundy are getting ready for their final now, Cox looking to put her individual time trial crash behind her and add to the gold she won in this category in Tokyo, and to her medal total of six.
She’s due to start lap one, then van Gass will takeover before Cundy finishes. They’re racing against a Spanish crew that won Tokyo bronze, behind a GB team including today’s three…
That Sophie Unwin comeback was really something, but not sure it quite beats that of Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson this morning, who reeled in the Chinese Duo in the PR2 mixed double sculls to win gold in a hugely successful morning for the ParalympicsGB rowing team. Watch for yourself here:
Never back down, never WHAT? 🗣️Is this the highlight of the Paralympics so far? 🤯#C4Paralympics #Paralympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/ffoTu3Y27O
We have a bit of a break in terms of British interest now, the open C1-5 team sprint final featuring Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass, and Jody Cundy due for 14.37.
In the meantime, we’re under-way in the mixed R5 10m air rifle prone SH2 final which doesn’t feature GB’s Ryan Cockbill or Tim Jeffrey, the Britons qualifying in 15th and 16th respectively, seven places from the eight final spots.
Elsewhere, there’s goalball action with China 3-0 up vs Israel – you can read our introduction to that sport here. We’ve also just seen Japan beat Australia 52-51 in overtime in the wheelchair rugby semi-final. They face one of the two Tokyo finalists, GB or the USA, in the final, which will be decided at 18.30 this afternoon.
Just looking back at GB’s PR3 mixed coxed four win this morning, GB’s cox, Erin Kennedy, has herself defied the odds to step onto the podium. The Paralympics is of course awash with jaw-droppingly inspiring stories from its athletes. People can, therefore, overlook the journeys taken by the athletes’ teammates – they wouldn’t be able to do it with their rowing coxes, cycling pilots, running guides.
Erin Kennedy was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 29 in 2022, and went through 15 rounds of chemotherapy to make a full recovery, and even coxed races after her diagnosis. You can read our exclusive interview with her here.
Just been sent this by a family friend.@Paralympics being shown in King’s Cross London. Proud to see…@ParalympicsGB @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/SdPXeiyLqc
What a race! Pure drama as an early British lead is surrendered by some rapid Irish riding. With less than half the race to go Dunlevy is over 1.5 seconds clear and it seemed like a foregone conclusion but the world record holders were setting themselves up for a comeback and once the race hit the 2000m mark Unwin began eating into the Irish lead.
Lap by lap that 1.5 second margin dissipated and Unwin eventually wins by a massive 2.166 seconds, astounding comeback and brutal finishing, that must’ve been so brutal for the Irish riders as their lead disappeared and the Britons began closing the gap between the two. Four medals in three races for ParalympicsGB’s track cyclists, two double podiums!
It’s a foregone conclusion pretty much from the start as Lora Fachie, with pilot Corrine Hall, finish five seconds clear of Lizzie Jordan and her partner Dannielle Khan, Jordan’s 1000m time trial gold from Friday should act as sufficient consolation you’d think. Two medals in as many races for the Fachie couple though.
All eyes on GB’s Sophie Unwin now, as she lines up against Ireland’s Katy-George Dunlevy in the gold medal race. Dunlevy won Tokyo silver ahead of Unwin’s bronze, but Unwin is undoubtedly favourite having set a new world record in qualification…
Neil Fachie’s wife Lora in a bronze medal final now, against GB’s world champion Lizzie Jordan in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit. Fachie into an early lead…
It’s a ParalympicsGB one-two as Ulbricht comes through in 59.862, 0.55 seconds behind Fachie’s silver medal pace!!!
The two celebrate together, very wholesome scenes in a changing of the guard type moment, Fachie won gold in London and silver in Rio, this is Ball’s first gold medal having finished second behind Fachie in Tokyo.
Great ride by James Ball and Steffan Lloyd, who shave 0.348 seconds from Fachie’s time to guarantee themselves silver minimum! One ride to go now for Germany’s Thomas Ulbricht, who qualified fastest with a time that is currently good enough for bronze.
Fachie looked absolutely spent after his race, Bell too as both British athletes leave everything on the track. Now for a nerve-wracking wait…
Neil Fachie has recovered from an underwhelming qualification to take pole position in the men’s B 1000m time trial alongside pilot Matthew Rotherham, their time of 59.312 the only one beneath a minute.
GB’s James Ball is up now as the penultimate racer with pilot Steffan Lloyd…
Following a convincing win in the morning, GB’s BC1 Boccia legend David Smith, who boasts five Paralympic medals including three golds, has just lost in his semi-final against South Korea’s Sungjoon Jung by 4-3. Smith, the double reigning singles champion, coasted to a 3-0 lead from the first end, before losing the subsequent two by a point apiece, and then the final end by 2-0 as Jung completed an unlikely comeback.
Smith will have to move on from this disappointment quickly, though, given he has a bronze final vs Indonesia’s Muhamed Syafa at 17.10 this afternoon. Elsewhere, Claire Taggart also lost her semi-final so goes for bronze vs Syafa’s compatriot Gischa Zayana at 16.00, whilst Stephen McGuire has a shot at BC4 gold at 16.00 tomorrow after he beat Croatia’s Davor Komar 5-3.
Morteza ‘Mehrzad’ Mehrzadselakjan’s Iranian sitting volleyball eased through their Pool B fixture vs Brazil by 3-0 this morning.
Standin at 8ft 1in, he’s the second tallest person on the planet, but is chronically shy and until his Paralympic volleyball career took off, he isolated himself from the outside world. Read more about it here.
There will be a chance for Kadeena Cox to put those time trial demons to bed as she helps her team of Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy to a final this afternoon.
Cox crashed in the early stages of the time trial following a botched start, and was in tears as her medal hopes came crashing down amidst an otherwise successful day for GB in the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. Let’s hope the 33-year-old can tap into van Grass’ gold-winning form to take gold.
Matt Skelhon has finished fifth in the R3 mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 final, world record holder Veronika Vadovicova winning gold for Slovakia with a score of 254.2, just 1.5 points off her world lead.
Skelhon came through with 188.5, some way off the pace given Spain’s bronze medallist Juan Antonio Saavedra Reinaldo scored 232.1. Skelhon will have a chance at redemption in the mixed 50m rifle prone qualification, scheduled for Thursday.
A 6-0, 6-1 win for the top seed OBE against Sergei Lysov of Israel ensures he will play a quarter-final in his quest for an Olympic gold, the only major title missing from his dense CV. He’s won all four slams in singles and doubles, but has lost three Olympic finals – two in the doubles in Rio and Tokyo, as well as a singles silver in Rio.
There’s also progress on the other side of the bracket for Hewett’s doubles partner, Gordon Reid, who is seeded fifth, having beaten Sri Lanka’s Suresh Dharmasena. Dahnon Ward and Ben Bartram are the last British men’s singles player to go, the former’s due to play France’s seventh seed Stephane Houdet this afternoon, the latter Japan’s intimidating second seed Tokito Oda.
It’s been another fantastic morning for ParalympicsGB, with the rowing team leading the party with four medals, three of which were gold.
It takes GB’s total to 29 medals, 1`4 of which are gold, to open up a cushion in second place, still trailing China’s total of 49.
Ben Pritchard produced a breath-taking second 1000m to coast clear in the opening final of the day, taking his first medal in the men’s PR1 single sculls after finishing off the podium in Tokyo.
His efforts were closely followed by Gregg Stevenson and Lauren Rowles in the PR2 mixed double sculls, the pair adding a third medal to Rowles’ collection and a first to Stevenson’s courtesy of a late comeback in the last 200m.
Sam Murray and Annabel Caddick then produced their own nail-biting finish, albeit for silver, as they pipped Germany to silver behind a dominant Australian crew.
Finally, on the lake, Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Josh O’Brien, and Ed Fuller, and cox Erin Kennedy fulfilled their favourites status to win GB a fourth straight PR3 mixed coxed four gold medal.
Elsewhere, there will be medal chances in the swimming pool, velodrome, and on the athletics track this afternoon as the likes of Neil and Lora Fachie, Hannah Cockroft, and Alice Tai qualified for finals amongst a total of six athletes, six swimmers, and five cyclists to qualify for medal chances in the morning session.
Most of those are gold chances, aside from Lora Fachie and Lizzie Jordan who, having qualified slower than GB’s Sophie Unwin and Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy in the B 3000m individual pursuit, will battle out for bronze against each other.
There is also a medal chance for GB’s C1-5 750 sprint team, who are waiting to ride their qualification race at the moment.
Also in action currently is wheelchair tennis top seed Alfie Hewett, who is coasting to a quarter-final having won his first set against Sergei Lysov 6-0, and Matt Skelhon, who is in the R3 mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 final.
To round off the morning, there’s been success in the Boccia where BC1 favourite David Smith coasted through to a semi-final thanks to a 6-1 win against Slovakia’s Tomas Kral, whilst in the BC4 classification Stephen McGuire beat Croatia’s Davor Komar in their semi-final. There were losses, however, for Claire Taggart and Patrick Wilson, but the former will have a BC2 bronze medal match at 4pm.
Updates on Hewett and Skelhon to come…
It’s gold for Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Josh O’Brien, and Ed Fuller, and cox Erin Kennedy in a repeat of the Tokyo podium with USA in second, and France photo-finishing for third place ahead of Germany.
It was comfortable throughout for the British crew who win a fourth straight medal in this category to close out a near-perfect morning for ParalympicsGB, four medals from four medal races and a convincing win in the para rowing medal table – their four medals twice the amount of Australia and Israel in joint second!
Three medals from three at the Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium so far, two gold courtesy of Ben Pritchard and Gregg Stevenson/Lauren Rowles.
GB’s Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Josh O’Brien, and Ed Fuller, coxed by Erin Kennedy, are heavy favourites to retain their gold from Tokyo, where they beat the US crew who are today’s biggest challengers.
GB recorded a world’s best in qualification, and they’re over a second ahead at the halfway mark now, more of the same please…
You can only imagine how frustrating it must be for the para triathlon athletes who have been affected – twice – by the rainstorms and the River Seine being deemed dangerous due to bacterial levels. But our athletes are trained to “adapt” with the event now scheduled for Monday.
I just had this statement from Tom Hodgkinson, Head of Paratriathlon at British Triathlon and ParalympicsGB Team Leader for Para Triathlon:
“The postponement is naturally disappointing, however we know it has been made for the right reason.
“We work with the athletes to be best prepared, and that includes their ability to adapt to the circumstances that they face.
“When the time comes to race, we know that athletes and staff will have done everything possible to make it a successful Paralympic Games.”
But it does make you wonder that with the billions of euros spent on the Games, why the event including swimming could not have planned around another venue. There is a contingency that it may become a duathlon if this continues.
There’s also a statement from the Paralympic Committee that says the following:
The latest water quality tests show a substantial decrease on the water quality in the river, after a release of water upstream the competition venue following the rain episodes the last two days.
Asa result of the releases, the water quality at the competition venue on Sunday, September 1, is considered not suitable for swimming.
It has been decided to schedule all 11 Para Triathlon medal events on 2 September. This is subject to forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming.
A photo finish for second for ParalympicsGB, Sam Murray and Annabel Caddick win silver!!
Truthfully, the world champion Australians Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager always looked comfortable in first but a late sprint by the German duo gave Britain an uncomfortable finish, but they hold on, just!
It’s a first Olympics, first medal for both! What a morning for GB’s para rowers!
Britain’s Sam Murray and Annie Caddick trail world leaders Australia, and are facing German interest for second…
Although Funmi Oduwaiye has missed out on a medal in the F64 discus, it’s been a successful morning for ParalympicsGB in the Stade de France.
Fabienne Andre, Kare Adenegan, and Hannah Cockroft have all qualified for the women’s T34 100m final, the latter two as favourites for medals.
Cockroft’s fiance, Nathan Maguire, is also through to his T54 100m final, qualifying in second, although teammate Daniel Sidbury doesn’t make the cut.
In the women’s T54 800m heats, Melanie Woods has qualified for this afternoon’s final at 18.15, whilst Zak Skinner is through to the T13 100m final as an outside shot at a medal at 18.47.
All in all, four medal races for six British athletes to come soon, stay tuned!
A stunning, stunning comeback from Gregg Stevenson and Lauren Rowles as GB follow their world leading qualification time with an unbelievable sprint finish to pip the Chinese duo to gold!!
They were over a boat length behind with 300m to go but they shift up the gears and keep their composure to come through by half a boat length in the end. China in second, Israel in third. Two golds from two for ParalympicsGB rowing!!
That’s a third consecutive gold for GB in this category, Rowles, aged just 26, has won all of them. It’s a first, however, for Stevenson, who started rowing in 2018 whilst trying out for the Invictus games; the 39-year-old had both legs amputated whilst serving as a Royal Engineer Commando in 2009.
Heavy favourites Rowles and Stevenson are looking to emulate Ben Pritchard’s medal heroics, they set a world lead in the heats.
They are, however, trailing the Chinese duo and have a lot to do in the final 500m…
Funmi Oduwaiye’s discus final comes to an underwhelming end, as her best throw of 33.32 is a margin off the untouchable Chinese duo of Yue Yang and Juan Yao – Yang wins with a season’s best 42.39m .
Oduwaiye will go again on Thursday morning in the F64 shot put, where her numbers are much more likely to pose a challenge to the medal podium.
It was late speaking with taekwondo gold medallists Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush last night, just before 11pm after the medal ceremonies and the celebrations. So needed to dip back in, and I’m biased most likely, as it’s a combat sport.
The only other one at the Games is judo, where the blind and partially sighted athletes start each physical struggle holding the gi of their opponent.
Amy wants to do Strictly Come Dancing… “I love dancing, and I’m single,” laughed the 35 year old from Chester. We’ve seen Jonnie Peacock, Will Bayley and Jody Cundy on the star studded show. She’s no mean dancer, either.
There were tears on the podium, too, the realisation of a dream after many years in the sport. Amy is a stalwart of the sport, and is now current Para, World and European champion. There was a joie de vivre about Matt Bush, too, both sporting their golden gongs, winners in the Mens K44 +80kg and Womens K44 +65kg events.
Bush, a larger than life character with his magnificent beard, reckoned having his girlfriend, 6-month old daughter and family there made it all worthwhile. “For me it made it. Having my friends and family here for this time. Everyone knows how much work we put in, but they don’t get to see it and they don’t get to come and experience it.”
Both are now combat sports legends for ParalympicsGB. I’ve said it a few times but the venue, the Grand Palais, is so captivating… can’t remember another indoor venue quite so exquisite at other iterations of this magnificent sporting festival.
With @MattBush1 @amytruesdale1 after their semi final victories here at Grand Palais . Both brilliant in their fightsFinals scheduled for UK times 7.48pm and 8.02 pm …@Telegraph @TelegraphSport @ParalympicsGB @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/Er8ORWymIW
A first gold medal of the day for ParalympicsGB at the first time of asking, as Ben Pritchard executes a blistering second 1000m to coast home, 11 seconds clear of world record holder and double reigning champion Roman Polianskyi!
His time of 9 minutes 3 seconds is slower than the Paralympic record of 8.51 in qualifying, probably owing to variable conditions, but that third quarter was really something to behold – he and eventual bronze medallist Giacomo Perini were trading places until the halfway mark but Pritchard accelerated and was the nailed on winner with time to spare.
A first medal for the Welshman in his second Games, after he converted to Paralympic rowing in 2017 following a cycling crash in 2016.
The men’s PR1 (limited/no function below the shoulders) single sculls has started, featuring Ben Pritchard, who leads at the halfway mark, but is facing a big challenge from Italy’s Giacomo Perini…
As expected, James Ball and Neil Fachie fly into this afternoon’s B 1000m time trial final, scheduled for 13.41. It’s not completely plain-sailing for Fachie, however, as he and pilot Matthew Rotherham come through in fourth, whether they were holding off to spare energy reserves is unknown.
Ball qualifies in second as expected, just behind a different opponent in Germany’s Thomas Ulbricht, who will line up against Ball in the final race this afternoon. Fachie set the world record at Tokyo, and was only around a second off the pace, so don’t write him off yet…
As expected, Hannah Cockroft absolutely decimates her heat that included compatriot Fabienne Andre, who came through in second in 19.03, just under two seconds behind Cockroft’s time of 17.12. Both qualify for this afternoon’s final scheduled for 18.26. In the other heat, GB’s Kare Adenegan produces a notable 17.87, so there’s a real prospect for a GB podium sweep.
On the field, Funmi Oduwaiye has made an understated start to the discus final, throwing a foul in her first go of six, and 32 metres in her second that leaves her in eighth, 8.01m from a medal.
There are three gold medals on offer, pending qualification, today for ParalympicsGB. One half of the Fachie husband and wife duo, Neil, is in the first GB heat, alongside James Ball in the Men’s B 1000m time trial – B standing for blind in terms of classification. This means the two ride tandem bikes with sighted pilots.
Those two will be shortly followed by the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit heats, featuring Neil’s wife Lora, as well as Sophie Unwin and Lizzi Jordan, the latter looking to add to her 1000m gold.
Neil Fachie won golds at London and Tokyo, whilst Lora won golds at Rio and Tokyo – the 2021 medals coming within an hour of each other.
A team gold in Beijing, and two individual golds in the last two Paralympics, David Smith is one of the sport’s best and after a cagey opening end, he takes three points from the second to go 4-0 up. His celebrations are frequent and loud, he’s a bit of a character. Patrick Wilson, meanwhile, is 1-0 down after one end.
Meanwhile, Funmi Oduwaiye is about to get her F64 discus final under-way in Britain’s first medal chance of the day, although it’s doubtful it will finish before Ben Pritchard and Gregg Stevenson/Lauren Rowles compete in their sculls finals within the next hour.
I was heading to La Seine this morning but the Paralympic triathlon competitions in Paris scheduled for today have been postponed because of concerns about water quality after yesterday’s heavy rainfall.
The 11 para triathlon events are now scheduled for Monday, if upcoming water testing allows, the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Triathlon said in a joint statement. The ParalympicsGB para triathlon press office have told me just now that the team “are just going about a bit of extra training” this morning.
We have several medal opportunities in the event. Rainstorms hit the French capital Friday and Saturday, causing wastewater and runoff to flow into the river, leading to a rise in bacteria levels including E. Coli. This is the second scheduled change for the para triathlon events. They had initially been scheduled to take place over two days, Sunday and Monday, but were moved to Sunday because of rain forecasts.
We might recall at the Olympics the men’s individual triathlon event during the Paris Olympics was delayed and several test swims were cancelled because of high E. coli levels after rainfall, and triathletes had been ill after swimming in the river Seine. A demain…
The Boccia, a Paralympic adaptation of boules, has just started, featuring Britain’s Patrick Wilson and David Smith in concurrent matches vs Poland’s Damian Iskrzycki and Slovakia’s Tomas Kral respectively.
Smith is a triple Olympic champion so is a big medal hope – you can read our explainer of what Boccia is, as well as other unique Paralympic sports, here.
Alice Tai, fresh off her gold medal in the women’s S8 100m backstroke yesterday, is back to compete in the SM8 200m individual medley, and coasts into the final to give her a chance at a second medal just two years after she had her right leg amputated owing to a lifetime struggle with clubfoot.
Her compatriot Brock Whiston wins the following heat, meaning they will compete in the final this evening, scheduled for 17.06, having qualified in second and third respectively to reaffirm their status as big medal hopefuls.
In a Games saturated with inspirational stories, one of the breakout stars has been Iran’s 8ft 1in Morteza Mehrzadselakjani, who features in the first sitting volleyball match of the day, scheduled for 11am against Brazil.
Mehrzad (his shortened name) has a wingspan that covers a third of the net, and is competing in the Paralympics owing to a cycling accident when he was 13 that fractured his pelvis and means his right leg is six inches shorter than his left.
The second tallest human in the world, he told Oliver Brown that for many years he felt ashamed to leave the house, but after he appeared on an Iranian TV show that featured his future coach ‘Mr Hadi’ in the audience, he became empowered by his subsequent sitting volleyball career that has seen him win gold at the last two Olympics, as well as two world titles.
You can read the full story here.
Britain sit second in the medal table at the end of day three and will need another successful day to fend off Brazil. Luckily, there is an abundance of medal opportunities, the first one coming from 09.52 as Funmi Oduwaiye competes in the women’s F64 discuss final, although she has her work cut out by Chinese gold and silver medallists from Tokyo, Juan Yao and Yue Yang.
Later on in the morning, Ben Pritchard rows in the men’s PR1 single sculls final at 10.30am, before Gregg Stevenson and Lauren Rowles compete in the mixed PR2 double sculls final at 10.50am.
They feature after Hannah Cockroft begins her campaign in the T34 100m heats at 10.10am alongside Kare Adenegan and Fabienne Andre, if they qualify for a medal chance scheduled for 18.26, whilst Eden Rainbow-Cooper looks to get her Games back on track after yesterday’s crash in the 5000m in the women’s 800m T54 heats.
Men’s wheelchair tennis star Alfie Hewett also starts his Games at 11am, before the rowing lake provides ParalympicsGB’s next medal hopes as Sam Murray and Annie Caddick compete in the mixed PR3 double sculls final at 11.10, whilst the mixed PR3 coxed four go in their final at 11.30.
Those are all the medal chances for this morning, but there’s plenty more qualification events throughout in the swimming pool and velodrome, as well as preliminary action at the athletics track, shooting range and boccia and tennis courts.
Meanwhile, Bruce Dee is the first Briton to compete today in the men’s SB6 100m breaststroke qualifiers, and he’s just shaved off two seconds from his British record to qualify for this afternoon’s final, scheduled for 16.30, as fifth fasted.
He’s followed by Faye Rogers and Callie-Ann Warrington in the women’s S10 100m freestyle heats. Rogers is first and finishes equal third in her heat with a personal best, but it’s not enough to qualify for the final this evening given the speed of the second heat, which Warrington qualifies from.
Good morning and welcome to today’s live coverage of the fourth day of the 2024 Paris Paralympic games, where ParalympicsGB look to continue their golden form and add to the 25 medals, including 11 gold, won so far.
Ten of those medals came yesterday as Britain continued their dominance in the swimming pool and the velodrome, the highlight being a frantic 40 minutes in which Alice Tai, Stephen Clegg, and Will Ellard all won swimming golds, the former dominating her race before the latter two broke world records – a particularly formidable feat given the unfavourable pool conditions in Paris.
This means ParalympicsGB top the swimming medal table at the end of day three ahead of China, whilst they sit in third in the track cycling, one gold behind China and Australia, which most likely would have been otherwise had it not been for Archie Atkinson’s gut-wrenching crash in the men’s C4 4000m individual pursuit final.
The 20-year-old was coasting clear with less than ¼ of the race to go but surrendered his lead to take silver, an ironic contrast to Jaco van Gass who recovered from a car accident last week to take one of GB’s two track cycling golds alongside Lizzi Jordan.
However, Atkinson’s fortunes were shared with Eden Rainbow-Cooper on the athletics track, the T54 wheelchair 5000m final restarted after she crashed 15 seconds in and she was unable to finish, but fear not as she has a shot at redemption in the 1500m final on Monday, and is someone who knows a thing or two about defying the odds.
Looking forward to today, some of GB’s highest profile para-athletes are kicking off their games. Alfie Hewett OBE, the wheelchair tennis player who boasts nine grand slam singles titles, 21 doubles slams and a Tokyo doubles silver medal begins his singles campaign against Israel’s Sergei Lysov having received a bye into the second round owing to his number one seed. They’re due to start on Court Philippe-Chartrier at 11am.
Husband and wife duo Neil and Lora Fachie feature in the velodrome, whilst London 2012 stars Hannah Cockroft and Jonnie Peacock feature in their respective 100m first rounds; Cockroft is part of another ParalympicsGB power couple, her fiancė Nathan Maguire is also in qualifying this morning.
In total there are 31 potential medal events for GB today, so a more comprehensive post about what’s happening when will follow – for now, read up about yesterday’s glorious antics.
English