Men’s sitting volleyball: Iran secure their eighth gold medal in this event and their fourth in five Games. Their star player was the world’s second tallest man, Morteza Mehrzad, who stands 8ft 1in and has a reach of 6ft 5in when sat down. Pretty hard to go against that. The Iranians were the better team even when Mehrzad took the occasional rest of the bench, and it was a thoroughly deserved win for a dominant team. Bosnia, champions in 2004 and 2012, settle for silver.
And with that, we shall bid you adieu. Here’s a roundup of Team GB’s day in case you missed it:
Chris Page writes in on the universal relay: “Tatyana McFadden is rightly lauded as a legend in Parasport - which makes GB’s Sammi Kinghorn’s win over her in the final leg even more significant, as she was metres ahead of McFadden, and McFadden was never going to catch up with her.”
Table tennis: GB’s Will Bayley was penalised a point in his loss in the men’s MS7 final to China’s Yan Shuo. He spoke about the decision to Channel 4:
“I sometimes kick the ball to the barrier and lean on the barrier and then pick up the ball, especially when I’m tired and with my disability as well, it’s quite hard to just pick up the ball in the middle of the court.
“I kicked the ball to the barrier to pick up the ball and then [the official] took a point away from me and in such a crucial stage, I was 3-1 up in the fifth. I just felt it was unnecessary and unfair, that’s how I felt, I told him that, but it’s sport though and I have to find a way of dealing with it.”
Athletics: Canada’s Cody Fournie wins gold in the men’s T51 100m, that victory goes alongside his title in the 200m. This one wasn’t close and he won in a Paralympic record of 19.63 ahead of Peter Genyn of Belgium, who was the reigning champion.
That bronze for Tatyana McFadden in the universal relay was the 21st in her Paralympic career, by the way:
SHE HAS DONE IT!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 6, 2024
Tatyana McFadden is the most decorated Paralympic athlete in U.S. track & field history. #ParisParalympics pic.twitter.com/MooZm5ze5H
Men’s sitting volleyball final: Iran have taken the second set in an event they have dominated, along with their opponents Bosnia, in recent years. Iran lead two sets to one.
Athletics: It’s the 4x100m universal relay on the track. It’s a small field: USA, GB, China and Japan. Each team has two male and two female athletes. China are the world record holders. Each team has one athlete each from the following categories: visual impairment, limb difference, cerebal palsy and wheelchair athlete. And … China take gold with another world record, Great Britain are second and USA are third. GB had the lead on the final leg but Sammi Kinghorn was up against a male athlete for gold, China’s Yang Hu.
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Swimming: The final event of the night in the pool is the men’s S8 100m freestyle. It’s 17-year-old Australian Callum Simpson who takes gold by 0.02sec ahead of USA’s Noah Jaffe. Italy’s Alberto Amodeo wins bronze.
The hug lasted for an entire minute. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, after years of effort and no shortage of heartbreak, had earned the reward their partnership has been searching for and so truly deserved: gold medals at the Paralympic Games.
Reid and Hewett have won a staggering 21 grand slam titles since coming together as a pair from 2016, but they have always said that the Paralympic title was the one they saw as the pinnacle of their sport. It had eluded them, however, and defeat in the final in Tokyo three years ago had felt like the end of the road, with Hewett having been told he would be declassified from the sport.
That decision was subsequently overturned on appeal, the partnership was resumed and eight more slams have followed since. On Court Philippe-Chatrier, they took all that experience – good and bad – and put it to work, beating the Japanese pair of Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda handily, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 35 minutes of play. They become the first men’s pair to complete a “golden slam”.
After victory was secured and the two men had extracted themselves from their cuddle, the celebrations were wild. A crowd which had begun by rooting for the Japanese pair had been won round by the duo’s energy, and their ferocity, with fierce winners from backhand and forehand from the depths of the court cutting the Japanese in two.
You can read the full report below:
Javelin: Venezuela’s Naibys Daniela Morillo Gil wins the women’s F46 gold with a Paralympic record of 43.77m. Uzbekistan’s Shahinakhon Yigitalieva takes silver with GB’s Hollie Arnold in bronze with 40.59m.
Men’s sitting volleyball final: Quite the thriller here with the second set seesawing before Iran take it 30-28 to level the scores at 1-1. Both teams saved multiple set points.
Here’s a little roundup of Team GB’s performance in today’s action if you want to catch up:
Swimming: USA’s Leanne Smith collects her second gold of the Games with victory in the 50m S4 freestyle final, and in a world record time of 40.03 too. Not bad for someone who said the podium wasn’t even in her mind before the event. Germany’s Tanja Scholz and Australia’s Rachael Watson take silver and bronze respectively. She won the 100m freestyle earlier in the Games. A remarkable performance given she fell ill at the 2022 world championships and ended up in intensive care with a respiratory infection and had to learn to speak, swim and swallow again.
Table tennis: That docked point looks to have made a difference. Bayley loses game five – and a chance at the gold medal – 11-9. He has to settle for the silver medal behind China’s Yan Shuo. It’s the fourth silver of Bayley’s Paralympic career.
Updated
Table tennis: Controversy as GB’s Will Bayley is penalised a point for kicking the ball away, allegedly in frustration after missing a shot. Bayley maintains that the contact was accidental but the officials are having none of it. The 2016 gold medallist does, however, lead 3-2 in the deciding game five.
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Men’s sitting volleyball: This event has gained plenty of attention due to the presence of the 8ft 1in Morteza Mehrzad of Iran, the world’s second tallest man. But his team trail Bosnia in the gold medal match after losing the first set.
GB pass gold total from Tokyo with victory in fencing
Fencing: Dimitri Coutya of Team GB beats Thailand’s Visit Kingmanaw 15-10 to claim gold in the men’s individual epee B category, his second of these Paris Games. It’s also GB’s 41st gold of the Games, passing their total from Tokyo with plenty of action still to come.
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The Guardian itself has had its say on the Paris Paralympics. And the paper quite likes what it’s seen:
The size of the crowds, the brio of the marketing and the enhanced profile of star athletes made London 2012 a breakthrough moment in Paralympic history. Since then, it has been a slightly rockier ride. Poor ticket sales and financial problems overshadowed the lead-up to Rio in 2016. Tokyo, delayed to 2021, was a behind‑closed-doors affair, blighted by Covid.
A lot, therefore, was riding on Paris 2024. And in multiple ways, Paris has brilliantly delivered. As the Games come to a close this weekend, the aggregate attendance could surpass 2.5 million – not far from the record set in London. The crowds have been passionate, and whenever a French athlete was in the running for a medal, fiercely partisan. Just as during the hugely successful Olympics, the French capital has provided a sumptuous, charismatic backdrop to thrilling sporting competition throughout the city.
The most gender-balanced British Paralympian group ever to compete has grabbed more than its fair share of glory. Coming into the final weekend, Team GB was vying with the US for second place in the overall medals table. Competing – astonishingly – in her ninth Paralympics, the cyclist Sarah Storey won her 19th gold, while the 14-year-old table-tennis star Bly Twomey became the youngest British Paralympian to win a medal in her debut Games.
You can read the full article below:
Hunter Woodhall follows Olympic champion wife with Paralympics gold
Men’s T62 400m final: Germany’s Johannes Floors is the reigning champion and world record holder with a time of 45.78, which is [checks notes] very fast. But he’s not fast enough today as USA’s Hunter Woodhall comes off the final bend with a surge to claim gold. Floors is second and Olivier Hendriks of the Netherlands is third. It’s not been a bad few weeks for Woodhall’s family: his wife, Tara Davis-Woodhall, won long jump gold at the Olympics in Paris.
“I’m just waiting to wake up man, I have the best team in the world,” says Woodhall after he’s asked about his victory.
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I’m going to call it a day there, with Tom Lutz taking over from me. Cheers!
Table tennis: Will Bayley’s MS7 men’s singles final is underway against China’s Yan Shuo. The latter, who has already won doubles gold at these Games, takes the first game 11-8.
Swimming: For Maskill, 19, that’s now three golds to go with two silvers at these Games. GB have 41 gold medals, equalling their Tokyo tally.
GB's Poppy Maskill wins gold in S14 100m backstroke
There are three GB swimmers in the S14 women’s 100m backstroke: Olivia Newman-Baronius, Megan Neave and Poppy Maskill. Valeriia Shabalina leads at the 50m mark, but Maskill fights back to win gold, and Newman-Baronius takes bronze to give GB two medals in the race. Neave has to settle for fourth.
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Swimming: The winner, as expected, in the S14 men’s 100m backstroke is world-record holder Ben Hance of Australia, but there’s British joy with a bronze for Mark Tompsett, just 17 years old.
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Swimming: Back to the pool, where in a few minutes we’ll have the S14 men’s 100m backstroke. ParalympicsGB have three swimmers in that one: Louis Lawlor, Mark Tompsett and William Ellard. Ellard already has two golds from these Games, having won the 200m freestyle and mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.
Wheelchair tennis: The action isn’t over for Alfie Hewett. He’ll take on Tokito Oda in the men’s singles final tomorrow. Win gold there and Hewett can match his doubles partner, Reid, who has Paralympic golds in both events.
That’s 40 gold medals now for ParalympicsGB by the way. They won 41 at the Tokyo Games.
Hewett and Reid win wheelchair tennis doubles gold!
Hewett and Reid go 5-1 up and will look to break serve to win the game, set, match and gold. Oda goes long to make it match point for the GB pair … but Hewett does the same to make it 30-40. But they secure gold with the next point … a Hewett drop shot doing the business. Finally, after two silvers together, Hewett and Reid have doubles gold at the Paralympics! It’s a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory.
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Wheelchair tennis: Oda’s forehand converts a break point for the Japanese pair and he tries to get the crowd going, hoping to reignite this contest. Gordon and Hewitt lead 3-1 in the second set of the men’s doubles final.
Wheelchair tennis: Hewett and Reid are cruising now, 3-0 up in the second set of the men’s doubles final after breaking serve once again.
Swimming: And we don’t have to wait long for another world record. Lu Dong wins her fourth gold medal in Paris, triumphing with a time of 38.17 in the S5 women’s 50m butterfly, beating the previous world-best by more than a second.
Swimming: World-record alert in the S5 men’s 50m butterfly as Guo Jincheng wins gold with a time of 30.28. It’s a China 1-2-3, with Yuan Weiyi and Wang Lichao behind him.
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Wheelchair tennis: Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid are halfway there. They win the first set 6-2 against Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in the men’s doubles final.
Jiang Yuyan wins S6 400m freestyle; GB's Summers-Newton takes bronze
Maisie Summers-Newton is third after 100m, with China’s Jiang Yuyan – the world record holder – leading comfortably. Gold seems to be heading Jiang’s way, with the real battle for silver. Jiang wins it – her sixth gold at these games – Switzerland’s Nora Meister is second and Summers-Newton has bronze, her third medal in Paris.
Swimming: We’re up and running in the pool with the S6 men’s 400m freestyle, won by Brazil’s Talisson Glock, defending his title from Tokyo. Up next, the S6 women’s 400m freestyle which features GB’s Maisie Summers-Newton. She’s already won two golds in Paris: the SB6 100m breaststroke and SM6 200m medley.
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Wheelchair tennis: This men’s doubles final is hotting up: Hewett and Reid’s 3-0 lead turns into 3-2, and a spectacular rally goes their way, saving a break point and leading to deuce. The GB pair hold on to lead 4-2.
Judo: Here are a few golds I’ve not reported on: Japan’s Junko Hirose triumphed in the J2 women’s -57kg, while Romania’s Alexandru Bologa won the J1 men’s -73kg. Hirose won bronze eight years ago, while Bologa came third in Tokyo and Rio. Both weren’t in the mood for any of that silver nonsense in Paris.
Wheelchair tennis: It’s been a rapid start for Hewett and Reid in the men’s doubles final as they break once again, taking a 3-0 lead.
Equestrian: There won’t be any medals handed out to GB in the grade III team event as they drop down the table to fourth, with USA and the Netherlands leaping into the top two spots.
Updated
Wheelchair tennis: And we’re away in the men’s doubles final, with some fine work from the net by Gordon Reid helping the GB pair to the first game, breaking the serve.
So Sarah Storey reckons the prospect of featuring at LA 2028 is still on. Asked about competing at the event, when she’ll be 50 (!), here’s what she had to say. Quotes courtesy of PA.
I need to enjoy this one first but, to quote Simone Biles, absolutely – never say never to anything. This just needs to sink in first because it was actually one of the most exciting races that we’ve had. From the word go, it was full gas.
My glutes are on fire. I was creaking before the race, absolutely. But that’s normal and it’s about finding ways to manage the process and the privilege of getting old as an athlete.
I wanted to be an athlete for as long as I possibly could. I never anticipated eight Games, let alone nine. You put yourself out there every time you put yourself on the start line and I keep doing that and keep finding ways to win a bike race, so long may that continue.
I’m still nippy for a 46-year-old but I have to use it wisely.
Equestrian: GB currently sit second in the grade III team event, having put up a team total of 219.562. There are still nine teams waiting for their final riders to compete.
Just watching a replay of the point that won it for Yui Kamiji in the wheelchair tennis singles, the new champion immediately bursting into tears having beaten the gold winner from Tokyo. There were tears among her team, too. Just a lovely moment.
Wheelchair tennis: Can Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid translate their French Open dominance into Paralympics success? They’ve won the grand slam together five years in a row, but they’re still chasing doubles gold in the Paralympics. Their final on Court Philippe-Chatrier, against the Japanese pair of Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda, begins shortly.
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Yui Kamiji wins the wheelchair tennis women's singles!
What a result! Kamiji was 4-1 up in the first set against Diede de Groot, ended up losing it, but came back to win the next two sets. She’s got a singles gold to go with the doubles gold she won on Thursday. A decent couple of days.
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That’s all from me – Taha is back to take the reins.
Tristan Bangma wins men's B road race
It’s a Dutch one-two:
1) Tristan Bangma (Ned) (Pilot: Patrick Bos) 2hr 55min 10sec
2) Vincent ter Schure (Ned) (Pilot: Timo Fransen) +2sec
3) Alexandre Lloveras (Fra) (Pilot: Yoann Paillot) +8sec
Elie de Carvalho (also France) had a mechanical in the closing moments – I think a dropped chain – and that was the end of that.
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Gold for GB's Unwin and Holl in women's B road race
That never looked in doubt: the ParalympicsGB pair take the inside line into the final straight, and power to what looks a comfortable win in a time of 2hr 37min 26sec. Unwin and Holl have time to celebrate before they cross the line, but the Irish pair were only 3sec behind.
1) Sophie Unwin (Pilot: Jenny Holl) 2hr 37min 26sec
2) Katie-George Dunlevy (Pilot: Kelly Linda) +3sec
3) Lora Fachie (Pilot: Corrine Hall) +1min 35sec
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Women’s road cycling: Just 1km to go in the B road race. Dunlevy leads for Ireland, but Unwin of GB is in her slipstream …
Women’s road cycling: Katie-George Dunlevy of Ireland leads from Sophie Unwin and Lora Fachie (both GB) on the final lap of the women’s B road race.
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Men’s road cycling: The men’s B road race continues: two out of of three leading tandems are from the Dutch team, split by a French pair. They are on the eighth out of nine laps, a 127km race.
Alexandre Lloveras and his pilot Yoann Paillot have dropped back: De Carvalho, Bangma and Ter Schure are the leading trio.
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Some more reaction from Sarah Storey below on how she relied on her language skills in order to clinch glory in the C4-5 road race.
“Today I knew we had a great breakaway, we built up a good lead,” Storey said. “Then Heidi Gaugain attacked with a lap and a half to go. Fortunately I speak a bit of French so I understood what she was told. So I was ready to attack with her.”
(Quotes via AP)
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Stephen Bate, GB’s sole entrant in the men’s B road race, earlier withdrew from the event because his guide, Chris Latham, is unwell.
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Dressage: Georgia Wilson is out there for ParalympicsGB and all seems to be going very smoothly.
“Georgia is very cool in the arena,” says the co-commentator Erin Orford. “She likes having fun with her horse and she’s a very cool competitor. She’s very gutsy and very determined … she looks like she’s really relaxed into this test.”
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The weather in Paris looks considerably more pleasant than where I am right now.
Anyway, here are some quotes from ParalympicsGB’s Ben Sandilands as well as his teammate Marcus Perrineau-Daley. He won gold in the men’s T20 1500m at the Stade de France earlier, setting a new world record in the process:
“It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve put in so much hard work,” Sandilands said. “I knew I had the speed in me at the end from my training. The timing has to be perfect and I went for it, and the world record means a lot. It’s incredible.”
Meanwhile, GB’s wheelchair racer Perrineau-Daley won silver in the men’s T52 100m with a time of 17.27sec, 0.57sec behind Belgian Maxime Carabin.
“It is incredible but I can’t help but think I could have won a gold medal,” said the 35-year-old.
“I was so focused on staying in lane, I was staring at the wheel, but it shows, when I put my power down, they won’t be able to catch me. I made three mistakes today and I still won a silver. I am not trying to boast, but when I do get it right, I am destined for gold.”
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Thanks Taha and good day, everyone.
I’m going to nip away for a break. Luke McLaughlin will keep you company in the meantime.
Heartbreaking.
Aldeeb travelled to the Games after months of grief, mourning 17 members of his family including his brother and his nephew killed in Gaza. He received news of his brother’s death in December a day after he played in a basketball friendly in Paris, and realised he had missed the last phone call from him during the match.
Road cycling: The women’s B road race is past the 56.8km mark and the GB pair of Sophie Unwin and (pilot) Jenny Holl continue to press for the lead with the Irish partnership of Katie-George Dunlevy and (pilot) Linda Kelly.
Yunier Fernández beats Rob Davies to win MS1 table tennis gold!
It’s a first Paralympics medal for Yunier Fernández, and he makes it a gold one. It’s a dominant victory in the MS1 men’s singles final, as he wins the third game 11-4. Davies, who won gold eight years ago, has to settle for silver this time round.
Updated
Table tennis: Rob Davies is now two games down in his MS1 men’s singles gold medal match against Yunier Fernández, the Cuban athlete winning the second game 11-7.
Wheelchair tennis: Wow, quite the contest in the women’s singles gold medal match. Japan’s Yui Kamiji was 4-1 up in the first set … but the Netherlands’ Diede de Groot wins it 6-4! A reminder: De Groot lost to Kamiji in the doubles final yesterday.
Table tennis: “Come on, Robbie boy!” comes the shout from the crowd, and Davies ends up nailing a couple of sharply-spinning lobs, leading 5-4 in the first game. Fernández comes back to lead 9-7 and has two game points, saved by Davies: tie-break time. Fernández wallops a fine return to lead 13-12, and he ends up winning the first game in the men’s singles MS1 final.
Table tennis: OK, time to watch Rob Davies. He won gold in Rio and now he’s gunning for another in the men’s singles MS1 final against Yunier Fernández. The Cuban athlete is guaranteed his first ever Paralympics medal.
“That’s never in doubt!” Enjoyed this from Jonnie Peacock.
He'll be back... ⏩
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) September 6, 2024
As if it was ever in doubt, @JonniePeacock puts to bed any rumours of an early retirement 😤#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/G0DfjMf0IE
Road cycling: The women’s B road race, which takes place with the use of tandem bikes, is underway. GB have three pairs: Sophie Unwin (pilot: Jenny Holl), Lora Fachie (pilot: Corrine Hall) and Elizabeth Jordan (pilot: Dannielle Khan). Unwin and Holl are trying to keep up pace with the Irish pair of Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly, Dunlevy having won gold three years ago.
Athletics: In the men’s F37 discus, gold belongs to Uzbekistan’s Tolibboy Yuldashev. Pakistan’s Haider Ali, responsible for each of his country’s Paralympics medals, and gold winner in Tokyo, takes bronze.
Athletics: There’s joy for India’s Praveen Kumar in the T64 men’s high jump final. He won silver three years ago with a 2.07m effort … this time he gets to 2.08 to pip USA’s Derek Loccident and win gold. GB’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who was No 1 at the Tokyo Games, has to settle for fifth place.
Athletics: And there’s the confirmation: the ParalympicsGB team is through to the final of the 4x100m universal relay, having put together the third best time of the heats. USA win the second heat, having put together a time of 46.39.
Athletics: The GB 4x100m universal relay team speak to Channel 4, and Jonnie Peacock is quizzed about his future … he’s adamant he’ll be racing at LA 2028. They’re all pretty chuffed with their time of 46.61, a European record. Now to the other heat, with Japan, USA and Brazil competing in that. Let’s see if GB’s time will be enough to guarantee a place in the final …
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Hello, all! Just a reminder what’s up shortly from a ParalympicsGB persepctive: Robert Davies is in action from 1pm BST in the MS1 men’s singles table tennis final against Cuba’s Yunier Fernández.
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And with that, I shall hand over to Taha Hashim for the afternoon stint. All yours, Taha.
Athletics: It’s just GB and China going in the first 4x100m universal relay, which combines four specifications and is always good fun. It’s all about the times, so it doesn’t matter that there’s only two teams going – or that GB came second. Jonny Peacock stormed down the back straight for GB to set up a finish for Sally Kinghorn. China win the heat with a world record, with GB not far behind.
Athletics: And it’s hotting up in the T64 men’s high jump final, with Derek Loccident taking the lead with a 2.06m jump under severe pressure. He was out if he didn’t clear that. India’s Praveen Kumar easily cleared the same distance to maintain his perfect record so far.
Great Britain is currently second to China in the medal table.
Athletics: Isaac Towers of Great Britain has qualified for the T34 800m final, strong work, despite missing out on automatic qualification.
Jonathan Broom-Edwards is still in high jump action.
What a display this was. Bear in mind the previous world record holder was in the field that Ben Sandilands tore asunder. And in his first ever Paralympics. Take a bow, young man.
There's a sandstorm in Paris! 🌪️
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) September 6, 2024
A lightning quick finish from Ben Sandilands as he storms home for the gold 🥇#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/LqUx1vljEQ
Dame Sarah Storey is calling for #EqualPlay for disabled school children as she secures gold medal number 19!!!
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 6, 2024
75% of disabled kids in the UK say they don’t take part in regular school sport and PE.
That needs to change, and it can be done.#ParalympicsGB 🟰🥇#Paris2024 🐐 pic.twitter.com/8mxFXXUh2k
Table tennis: GB’s Will Bayley is guaranteed a silver at the very least after breezing through his semi-final. The 36-year-old has three Paralympic silvers to his name and one gold, which he won in Rio.
Light work 🤷@WillBayleytt cruises into the gold medal match in style 😎#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 https://t.co/cEq2I3vyxs pic.twitter.com/myzlbn4gC9
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) September 6, 2024
The men’s T34 800m is the next athletics event up on the track. It’s only the heats at this stage, but GB’s Isaac Towers is in action. This is the highest functioning wheelchair race classification.
Some of the headlines you might have missed this morning:
Jonathan Broom-Edwards’ T64 high jump final is under way. It’s safe to say he’s bang up for it, judging from his social media posts.
LET’S GO! 💪🏻🇬🇧
— Jonathan Broom-Edwards MBE (@BroomEdwardsT44) September 6, 2024
T64 High Jump Final
10:48 🇬🇧 11:48 🇫🇷#paralympics #paris2024 #paralympicsgb #highjump pic.twitter.com/KHrpf8RUAt
Some good comments on Storey BTL:
Heading off a teenager aged 46! Amazingly well done Sarah Storey. 19 golds!
Seeing Sarah Storey’s interview just now, she was clearly a lot calmer in that last kilometre than anybody watching will have been. Phenomenal.
I had the privilege of being on the same start line as her in a local fish ‘n’ chipper CX race years ago....I won’t try and say I raced her. To see a rider of that quality is something else. They don’t sit on the bike and the bike is on the ground; the rider is floating half an inch above the bike and the bike is always half an inch off the ground. Grace.
Sarah Storey is interviewed about her 19th Paralympic gold on Channel4:
“I’m glad someone is keeping count [of the medals] cos I wasn’t keeping total count. I was just thinking about winning this bike race. I knew Heidi [Gaugain] would want to attack but I was happy to take it to the line as the fastest sprinter of those four. She’s 19 at the end of the day so I had to reel her in – fortunately I understand French so I knew when she was going to attack! I knew I would still have a kick to go for the finish.”
She’s coy on the final question … which is whether she will compete at LA in 2028. She would be 50 then.
Athletics: The men’s T52 100m final is next. Maxime Carabin of Belgium was the major favourite for this beforehand and he does indeed storm home to take the gold by a distance. Marcus Perrineau-Daley picks up a fine silver medal for GB.
Back to athletics next and the big one will be GB’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards in the T64 high jump as he tries to retain his title from Tokyo. He also won a silver in the T44 high jump in Rio de Janeiro.
Channel4 are just replaying Sandilands’ run in the 1500n, which he won by an absolute mile – obliterating the competition on the home straight and claiming a stunning world record.
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It’s hard to believe that Dame Sarah Storey won a gold medal in swimming at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona. Her longevity, adaptability and pure bloody-mindedness to win and keep winning is simply remarkable. This pretty much sums her up:
Wow wow just watching Sarah Storey in Paralympics in C4.5 road race....what an amazing Paralympian cyclist, mother and woman empowering. Go Dame Sarah loving you kicking butt. ALL the more gold medals to you. Hang tuff 💪👏👏
— Tessa Sanderson CBE (@tessasanderson) September 6, 2024
Sarah Storey wins gold in women's C4-5 road race
It is gold for Sarah Storey – a 19th Paralympics gold medal for her, as she holds off the challenge of Gaugain at the death. She raises her first to the crowd and takes the deserved adulation. What an athlete she is.
Gaugain is edged out into silver, while Colombia’s Paula Andrea Ossa Veloza gets the bronze.
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Gaugain powers away at the front and Storey is fighting like hell to try and stick with her. This is brutal stuff in the final kilometre. But Storey has closed the gap!
All eyes now are on the women’s C4-5 road race. Sarah Storey is in a group of three at the front, as we approach the final couple of kilometres. There’s some tight corners so the riders are taking it easy, before the inevitable sprint finish. French para-cycling favourite Heidi Gaugain is right there with her.
Gold for Ben Ben Sandilands of GB! What a display in the men’s 1500m T20.
It's GGOOOOOOLLLLLLD for Ben Sandilands!!!!
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 6, 2024
And a stonking new World Record in the 1500m T20!!
YYYIIIIIIIRRRRRSSSSS#ParalympicsGB 🥇 pic.twitter.com/BU7hipWVvq
Preamble
We’re approaching the final couple of days of what’s been a superb Paralympics. The crowds in Paris have been excellent and the action has been thoroughly enjoyable. Today should be no different: right now ParalympicsGB superstar Sarah Storey is going for road race gold; then we’ve got athletics, canoeing and plenty more beside; lots of judo, table tennis, swimming – it doesn’t stop.
This blog will keep on rolling throughout the day, so don’t go anywhere else! I’ll be keeping the chair warm until Taha Hashim comes in around midday. Feel free to drop me an email and flick on the kettle.
