ParalympicsGB motor past Tokyo gold count on epic day

ParalympicsGB surpassed their Tokyo gold tally with two days to spare, and brought up the 100-medal mark on a special day in Paris.

ParalympicsGB took their number of golds to 42, with six more added on day nine – including a special victory at Roland Garros.

Alfie Hewett ended his long wait for Paralympic gold as he and Gordon Reid won their first men’s doubles gold together with a straight-set victory over Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokita Oda.

The pair triumphed 6-2 6-1 to finally complete the career Golden Slam and win the 300th gold medal at an Olympic or Paralympic Games since National Lottery funding began.

“We finally did it, it’s ours,” said Reid. “Sometimes you need to feel some pain to enjoy the highs when they come, we need to really savour this moment.

“We’ve been desperate for this for a long time, we’ve come close twice and felt that heartbreak and pain. Those matches have been some of the toughest moments of my career, so to sit here with the gold around our necks is one of the best feelings I’ve had in sport.”

From first-time Paralympic champion to 19th, the day began with Dame Sarah Storey winning her 14th straight cycling gold in the women’s road race.

The 46-year-old outsprinted teenage home hopeful Heidi Gaugain to claim her second gold of the Games and move her overall tally to 30.

Storey said: “The key is not to be afraid to lose a bike race. I have to trust myself and not overthink things and just go on instinct sometimes.

“When you’re up against a 19-year-old, you remember what that was like. I think back to when I was 19. I had just come back from the Games in Atlanta, I had my fifth gold medal as a swimmer, and I was in the form of my life

“Using that experience, the nippiness of a 19-year-old, I’m still nippy for a 46-year-old but I have to use it wisely.”

Sophie Unwin also won gold as she claimed a fourth medal in her fourth cycling event at Paris 2024 across both road and track.

She won the Women’s B road race alongside guide Jennie Holl with teammate Lora Fachie winning bronze for her third medal of the Games.

At the Grand Palais, Dimitri Coutya won his second wheelchair fencing gold of the Games, with victory in the men’s épée Category B final, as compatriot Piers Gilliver lost the Category A final.

The swimming pool brought its customary medals as Poppy Maskill won gold in the women’s backstroke for her fifth medal of the Games while Olivia Newman-Baronisus won her first in the same event.

Mark Tompsett won bronze in the men’s equivalent after Maisie Summers-Newton had begun the evening’s swimming with bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle.

Will Bayley said it was a privilege to be part of a thrilling table tennis final as he won silver in the Class 7 men’s singles.

The 36-year-old was playing in his fourth straight singles final at a Paralympic Games, but was unable to reclaim the gold he won at Rio 2016.

In athletics, Ben Sandilands powered to men’s 1500m T20 gold in world record time on Paralympic debut.

Sandilands, who was crowned world champion on debut in the French capital last year, surged clear of the field with a lap to go.

The 21-year-old crossed the line for victory in a brilliant 3:45.40, slicing a tenth of a second off the previous and taking 1.6 seconds off his personal best.

Defending champion Hollie Arnold saw her women’s javelin Paralympic record taken from her as she finished third, while Sammi Kinghorn won her fifth medal as part of the 4x100m universal relay with Zac Shaw, Jonnie Peacock and Ali Shaw.

Wheelchair racer Kinghorn has matched Tanni Grey-Thompson who was the last member of a British athletics squad to win five medals at one Games, doing so at Barcelona 1992.