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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Emillia Hawkins (earlier) and Taha Hashim (later)

Paris 2024 Paralympics day four: GB golds galore; athletics, swimming and more – as it happened

Hannah Cockroft wins gold in the T34 100m.
Hannah Cockroft wins gold in the T34 100m. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Right then, that’ll be enough from me. It’s been a record-breaking, gold-heavy day for ParalympicsGB, and there’ll be more coverage from us tomorrow: can’t stop, won’t stop.

To the men’s 100m – T64 heats, with GB’s Jonnie Peacock through to the final after finishing third with 10.93s. Sherman Isidro Guity Guity claims the Paralympic record with a time of 10.72.

Time to tune into the men’s 400m – T11 final – conducted by runners with a visual impairment, each with a guide. France’s Timothee Adolphe leads on the home straight but Enderson Santos Gonzalez bursts through to take gold! Adolphe has to make do with silver, having also finished second in Tokyo in the 100m – T11.

What a day it’s been for ParalympicsGB, their best this century:

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Just casting my eye over the wheelchair rugby semi-finals, with GB against USA. USA are 45-39 up in the fourth quarter at the moment … make that 45-40 with less than three minutes left on the clock.

Records! Records! Records!

GB win gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle – S14 relay!

Time for some swimming again, with the mixed 4x100m freestyle – S14 final. GB are favourites, and they have the lead at the 100m point after William Ellard puts up a time of 51.07. Rhys Darbey keeps GB ticking along at the front, with Brazil second. Poppy Maskill continues proceedings before Olivia Newman-Baronius seals a gold win! Australia end up taking silver, Brazil bronze.

Sabrina Fortune wins shot put – F20 gold!

GB’s Sabrina Fortune takes gold in the women’s shot put – F20 final, having broken the world record (which she already held) with a throw of 15.12m. A stellar final display also saw her throw 14.95, 14.90 and 14.92, trumping her previous best of 14.83. She won bronze in this event in Rio; now she’s No 1.

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Grace Harvey is, quite obviously, ecstatic while speaking to Channel 4. “To finally finish first, it feels amazing,” she says. She’s done it in front of family, friends … and her Year 7 maths teacher! “I knew they [the competition] were going to go out fast in the first 50m and I could see them but I know I’ve got a good turn, I’ve really, really worked on that.”

GB's Grace Harvey wins women's 100m breaststroke – SB5 gold!

I’m going to turn my attention to swimming, with the women’s 100m breaststroke – SB5 final about to start. GB’s Grace Harvey is in action; she took silver in this event in Tokyo. Harvey is third at the 50m point, with China’s Zhang Li leading. But we’re on a for a very tight finish, Harvey’s red cap taking the lead in the final metres …. and she does it! Gold for Harvey! Her final time is 1:42.33, 0.84 seconds separating her and Zhang Li.

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And now the men’s 100m – T13 final. GB have a representative through Zak Skinner, who rocks a flowing mullet. But it’s Algeria’s Skander Athmani who wins it with a Paralympic record time of 10.42, juuuust pipping Salum Kashafali. Skinner seemed to be in bronze contention for a moment but finishes sixth.

Off we go to the men’s 100m – T44 final. It quickly becomes a battle between South Africa’s Mpumelelo Mhlongo and Cuba’s Yamel Lewis Vives Suares, and the former takes gold with a time of 11.12!

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Kare Adenegan’s silver means she’s now finished second in the women’s 100m – T34 in three consecutive Paralympics. Cockroft has come out on top every time.

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Hannah Cockroft wins gold in the women's 100m – T34!

Now then, to the women’s 100m – T34, with world and Paralympic record holder Hannah Cockroft in action. And she clears away from the field, putting up a time of 16.80 to win by some distance; GB’s Kare Adenegan takes silver with a time of 17.99.

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Switzerland’s Manuela Schaer wins gold in the women’s 800m – T54 final, with Great Britain’s Melanie Woods forced to settle for sixth despite putting up a personal best of 1:43.85.

Sabrina Fortune breaks world record in women's shot put - F20

I’m keeping an eye on the women’s shot put – F20 final, too, with Great Britain’s Sabrina Fortune in action. She’s the world-record holder … and she’s broken it again! Her previous best was 14.83m, now it’s 15.12, delivered with her first go in the final.

And off we go in the women’s 800m – T53 final, with Kinghorn in lane four. She starts well, keeping up alongside Debrunner, the pair moving firmly away from their competition. Debrunner’s lead grows, though, and she’s clearly on course for gold, which she collects with a Paralympics record time of 1:41.04. Kinghorn looks chuffed, though, having won silver.

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Hello, everyone! Thanks, Emillia, good to be here. I’ve got the women’s 800m – T53 final on. Great Britain have Samantha Kinghorn as a representative. She’ll be competing against the world-record holder, Catherine Debrunner.

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That’s all from me. I’ll hand you over to Taha Hashim who will guide you through the rest of today’s action.

Over to you, Taha!

Tanya Aldred was at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome this afternoon for the para-cycling. Read her report here:

Brock Whiston spoke to Channel 4 following her incredible gold medal win. She said: “I had something to prove to myself and I did it. I was quite worried [about the breaststroke] because in 2019 when I raced Alice [Tai] I overtook her on the breaststroke but this time I couldn’t see her so I was like ‘I just got to swim my race and just go for it’ and I did, so really happy.

“I never thought I could win it. I just had to go in and swim my race and I said my coach if I do faster than this morning and I win any sort of medal, it’d be an achievement, so yeah, buzzing!”

Great Britain suffered a 62-47 defeat to China in the women’s wheelchair basketball this afternoon. Despite the loss, they will play in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Speaking after her gold medal win, Maisie Summers-Newton told Channel 4: “I’m delighted with individual medley but the team’s done so well and I definitely wanted to get another medal. I knew I had a great chance and had to give it my all.

“I think this time I’m trying to live in the moment a bit more and not panic so much. It obviously paid off in the race. It’s what dreams are made of. When I was watching Ellie (Simmonds) at London 2012, I never thought I would come back with one medal, let alone four.”

Gold for Brock Whiston, bronze for Alice Tai

Brock Whiston wins gold for Great Britain in a thrilling SM8 200m individual medley final! Her team-mate, Alice Tai, dominated most of the race but lost her lead following the breaststroke. Whiston was level with Viktoriia Ishchiulova for the final 50m but pulled away in the final few moments to finish first. Ishchiulova takes silver, Tai claims bronze.

ParalympicsGB duo Brock Whiston and Alice Tai are next in the women’s SM8 200m individual medley final. Jessica Long of the USA also features.

Updated

Emeline Pierre of France takes gold and the Paris La Defense Arena goes wild! What an incredible swim! Canada’s Aurelie Rivard claims silver, with Alessia Scortechini finishing third. Callie-Ann Warrington just misses out on the medals in fourth.

Next up we have the women’s S10 100m freestyle final, featuring ParalympicsGB’s Callie-Ann Warrington.

Maisie Summers-Newton wins gold for Great Britain

Maisie Summers-Newton has won another gold medal for ParalympicsGB in the pool! She recorded a Paralympic-record time of 1:31:30 in the women’s SB6 100m breaststroke final. China’s Liu Daomin finishes second, with Hong Kong’s Ng Cheuk Yan taking bronze.

Updated

Next up – the women’s SB6 100m breaststroke final featuring GB’s Maisie Summers-Newton and Ahalya Lettenberger of the USA.

China’s Yang Hong takes gold in the men’s SB6 100m breaststroke, with Nelson Crispin Corzo of Colombia claiming silver and Yevhenii Bohodaiko winning bronze.

Morgan Ray finishes fourth, with Bruce Dee in fifth and Zach Shattuck in sixth.

First up we have the final of the men’s SB6 100m breaststroke, featuring Great Britain’s Bruce Dee and the USA’s Morgan Ray and Zach Shattuck.

We’re heading back to the pool now, but while we wait for the next event, here are some of the best pictures from day four in Paris so far…

Great Britain’s Dan Bethell progresses to the men’s singles SL3 badminton final with a 21-7, 21-9 win over Mongkhon Bunsun of Thailand. He is now guaranteed at least a silver medal.

The final is set to take place tomorrow.

Feel-good Paralympics story alert!

American para-archer Tracy Otto was eliminated from the women’s W1 individual event at the quarter-final stage on Saturday (not the feel-good part, keep reading). But just a few hours later, her boyfriend, Rick Riessle, proposed under the Eiffel Tower!

You’ll be pleased to know, she said yes!

Congratulations, Tracy and Rick!

Moving back to the Bercy Arena for the women’s wheelchair basketball now and China are leading Great Britain 45-29. We’re approaching the end of the third quarter and time is running out for GB.

Jody Cundy won his ninth Paralympic gold medal this afternoon in the C1-5 750m team sprint. Reacting to the achievement, he told Channel 4: “It’s hard to believe, like I couldn’t have imagined where I’d be when I started this journey in 1996 and here we are, another gold medal round my neck and it’s fabulous.

“This is the third on the trot in the team sprint so I’m quite happy on that one as well, it’s a title defended twice now so it’s pretty special. It’s just friends, family, all the coaches, all the guys back home, UK Sport, National Lottery, all of those people that are behind the scenes that just help get me to the line and make me able to do when I am doing and come together with these guys.”

Kadeena Cox bounced back from a devastating crash on Thursday to win gold for ParalympicsGB in the velodrome this afternoon. After celebrating the win with team-mates Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy, she told Channel 4: “It was hard to get out there and I’m grateful to these boys, the rest of the team, my friends, family, everyone that messaged that helped me to have the confidence to get on the start line.

“It’s been a rough few days, but to come back and be able to do this. I think I’m proud of myself and proud of the team that we’ve come together once again and dominated.”

Great Britain won three gold medals in this morning’s para-rowing events. Read Paul MacInnes’ report from Vaires-sur-Marne here:

China lead Great Britain 24-17 in the women’s wheelchair basketball group stage match. We’re now in the second quarter.

ParalympicsGB are now in action over at the Bercy Arena, where they are facing China in the women’s wheelchair basketball group stage. China currently lead 10-5 in the first quarter.

What a moment for the British trio. Kadeena Cox was left heartbroken after suffering a crash during her C4-5 500m time trial final on Thursday. Jody Cundy missed out on a medal in his C4-5 1000m time trial on Friday. And while he won gold in the men’s C3 pursuit earlier this week, Jaco van Gass was disappointed after finishing fourth in the C1-3 1000M time trial on Saturday.

All three para-cyclists have bounced back to win gold in the final velodrome event of Paris 2024. Amazing.

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Cox, Cundy and Van Gass win gold

Great Britain’s Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy win gold in the final track para-cycling event of the 2024 Paralympic Games with a faultless run! They finish with a time of 47.738 seconds. What a performance! What a moment! It’s GB’s fifth gold medal in the velodrome!

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All eyes are on the velodrome once again as ParalympicsGB’s Kadeena Cox, Jody Cundy and Jaco van Gass go for gold in the C1-5 750m team sprint final. They face Ricardo Ten Argiles, Pablo Jaramillo Gallardo and Alfonso Cabello Llamas of Spain.

Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl won a bronze and a silver medal in Toyko three years ago, but they have now completed the set with that women’s B 3000m individual pursuit gold.

Unwin told Channel 4: “This was the event we wanted, we set out the goal after the World Championships last year, we said ‘pursuit is what we want’, we tried something totally new coming into this and we weren’t sure it was going to work out for us, but just incredible. fter the World Championships, Jenny went ‘let’s going for the world record’ and I was like ‘yeah, sure Jenny!’’’

Holl went on to add: “We’ve completed the set, when you include our Tokyo medals, we’re done!”

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Stephen McGuire booked his spot in the men’s BC4 boccia final this morning. The 40-year-old earned a 5-3 win over Croatia’s Davor Komar in the semi-finals and is now guaranteed a medal.

Following his win, McGuire said: “It’s incredible. It’s 20 years’ hard work, I’ve wanted this for 20 years. I’ve been working with my coach for 10 years so it’s been a long, long process. To finally get that medal for myself and ParalympicsGB is a dream come true.

“To say I’m a Paralympic medallist is a dream come true. To represent ParalympicsGB is a privilege but to win a medal for them and for myself, after a 20-year process is the cherry on top of the cake.

“I’ll certainly enjoy the final. I perform well in finals, there’s no pressure as you’ve made it to the end. I’ve enjoyed the whole event and I will enjoy the final.”

Discussing his gold medal win, Great Britain’s James Ball told Channel 4: “Unbelievable. The way it is done with the kilo and the seeding and just waiting for your turn to go up and then yeah, we knew we’d have to follow something big from Matt and Neil, this is how it’s always gone. I think the last time we won the kilo was 2019 so yeah, we’ve just been chasing them.

“Usually, the longer the partnership can gel and learn from each other, usually gets the better times, the faster times but basically we’re trying to match them in the first [500m], that’s their absolute strongest part which we didn’t have, so we worked on a long time on this and it’s paid off today.

“It just makes everything worth it. I know everyone says that but the people, the staff, they want it just as much as we do, even though they’re not competing and that’s something special and I feel like British Cycling has got a lot in that department and so this is for anyone who has ever believed in us so, even my past pilots behind me, everyone really, we’re always trying to win and do our best and I couldn’t be happier.”

Sophie Unwin wins gold

What a race! Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl take gold in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit following an absolute thriller! Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal were leading for over half the race, but Unwin and Holl managed to pull it back and win with a time of 3:19.149. Amazing!

It’s time for the gold medal race in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit. Great Britain’s Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl face Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal.

Lora Fachie takes bronze

Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall take the bronze medal following a dominant performance against Elizabeth Jordan and Danielle Khan in the velodrome.

Next up, Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall face fellow Brits Elizabeth Jordan and Danielle Khan in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit bronze medal race.

James Ball wins gold for Great Britain

James Ball and pilot Steffan Lloyd have won gold in the men’s B 1000m time trial with a time of 58.964 seconds. Fellow Brits Neil Fachie and Matthew Rotherham take silver in a 1-2 finish for ParalympicsGB.

Germany’s Thomas Ulbricht and Robert Foerstemann claim bronze.

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Paralympics GB trio Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy qualified for the C1-5 700m mixed team sprint this morning in the velodrome after recording a time of 48.493 seconds. They will now go for gold in the final this afternoon.

Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett beat Israel’s Sergei Lysov in the second round of the men’s singles in wheelchair tennis this morning. Hewett won in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 and dropped just one game.

Britain win four medals in rowing

ParalympicsGB won three gold medals in para-rowing this morning. Benjamin Pritchard won his PR1 men’s single sculls final to take the Paralympic title, while Gregg Stevenson and Lauren Rowles took the top spot in the PR2 mixed double sculls.

Annie Caddick and Sam Murray then took silver in the PR3 mixed double sculls before Frankie Allen, Josh O’Brien, Giedrė Rakauskaitė, Ed Fuller and Erin Kennedy won gold in the PR3 mixed coxed four.

It takes ParalympicsGB’s total medal tally up to 29 - 14 golds, nine silver and six bronze.

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Para-triathlon postponed

The para-triathlon events that were scheduled to take place today have been postponed to tomorrow due to the decrease in water quality of the River Seine. The decision was made following a meeting between Paris 2024 and World Triathlon officials at 3:30am this morning.

A statement read: “The latest tests show a decrease in water quality in the river following the rain episodes over the last two days. As a result, the water quality at the competition venue on Sunday 1 September is not suitable for swimming and above the threshold established by World Triathlon. It has been decided to schedule all 11 Para triathlon medal events on 2 September. This is subject to the forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming.

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes and with these conditions, the Para triathlon events cannot take place today.”

David Smith qualified for the BC1 boccia semi-finals this morning with a 6-1 win over Slovakia’s Tomas Kral.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to day four of the Paralympic Games! Great Britain won 10 medals on day three, five of which were gold. Three more golds were added to the tally this morning in the para-rowing, with many more up for grabs as we head through the day. Para-athletics, para-archery, boccia, para-cycling track and wheelchair basketball are among the sports scheduled for this afternoon and evening.

I’ll be with you throughout the day - join me!

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