Key events
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
