25 August 2021
Today in Tokyo - Day 2
ParalympicsGB once again asserted themselves on the Tokyo stage with a medal-laden second day, with five gold medals across four sports leaving them second in the overall medal table.
In the pool, Tully Kearney and Maisie Summers-Newton raced to the top of the podium with a world record apiece.
While in equestrian, Sir Lee Pearson won his 12th Paralympic title and Sophie Wells and Georgia Wilson claimed silver and bronze respectively.
There was a gold and silver for cycling’s Jaco van Gass and Fin Graham respectively, with Jody Cundy and Aileen McGlynn - with pilot Helen Scott – also winning silver medals in the velodrome.
Piers Gilliver bettered his Rio silver to take top spot in wheelchair fencing, and fellow Brit Dimitri Coutya also sealed a brilliant bronze.
If you missed any of the action, here’s what happened today in Tokyo.
Kearney and Summers-Newton power ParalympicsGB to double gold in the pool
The second day of swimming action saw ParalympicsGB roar to a golden double, with Tully Kearney and Maisie Summers-Newton powering to the top of the podium with a world record apiece.
Kearney completed her remarkable journey from Rio heartbreak to the top of the Paralympic ranks, smashing her own global best time in the women’s 100m freestyle S5 by almost two seconds to erase any disappointment at just missing out in the 200m a day earlier.
Maisie Summers-Newton roared to victory in the women's 200m individual medley SM6 final
Shortly after Kearney’s title exploits, Summers-Newton notched ParalympicsGB’s second gold of the day in the pool with a dominant second half of the women’s 200m individual medley SM6 final to finish in a world record time of 2:56.68.
Eight-time Paralympic medallist Ellie Simmonds – who inspired Summers-Newton to take up swimming with her performances at previous Paralympic Games – finished strongly in fifth, while Grace Harvey was one place further back in sixth.
Pearson trots to 12th dressage gold
Sir Lee Pearson won a 12th Paralympic gold medal of his storied career at the equestrian park, while teammates Georgia Wilson and Sophie Wells also yielded podium finishes.
The 47-year-old Pearson, who won his first gold medals 21 years ago in Sydney, took victory in the dressage grade II individual test.
An emotional Sir Lee Pearson claimed his 12th Paralympic gold medal
Pearson was the 11th of 12 riders to go and scored 76.265 per cent on his home-bred horse Breezer to win by a comfortable 2.824 from long-time rival Pepo Puch of Austria.
Wilson - riding Sakura - finished in an impressive third on her Games debut with 72.765 per cent, just two weeks after a late call-up to the squad.
And Wells finished off a superb day for the ParalympicsGB team by taking silver in the dressage individual test grade V, scoring 74.405 per cent with Don Cara, just 2.119 back from Belgian gold medallist Michele George.
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Record-breaking van Gass headlines another British medal haul in the velodrome
Jaco van Gass smashed the world record and then won gold in the C3 3000m individual pursuit, leading a British one-two with Fin Graham on another brilliant day for ParalympicsGB in the velodrome.
Jaco van Gass and Fin Graham shared the podium at the Izu Velodrome
Both Graham and Van Gass broke the world record en route to the final, with the latter taking victory by a narrow margin of 1.13 seconds in a winning time of 3:20.987.
Meanwhile, Jody Cundy became the first British man to win a medal at seven Paralympic Games with silver in the men’s C4-5 1000m time trial, while the first British medal of the day in Izu came courtesy of Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott, who took silver in the women’s B 1000m time trial.
Gilliver a cut above the rest to claim fabulous wheelchair fencing gold
Piers Gilliver went one better than his Rio silver to claim top spot in the men’s wheelchair fencing épée category A at the Makuhari Messe.
Piers Gilliver after sealing wheelchair fencing gold
The 26-year-old had fallen at the round of 16 stage in the sabre competition a day earlier but showed no signs of letting that disappointment affect his performance, beating the Russian Paralympic Committee’s Maxim Shaburov 15-9 to notch gold.
Fellow Brit Dimitri Coutya also claimed a medal place in the men’s category B, picking up bronze following 15-11 victory over Belarusian defending champion Andrei Pranevich in the battle to complete the podium.
Further success in wheelchair rugby and table tennis
ParalympicsGB’s wheelchair rugby team booked a spot in the semi-finals after a comprehensive 60-37 win over New Zealand guaranteed them a top-two spot in Group B.
In table tennis, Jack Hunter-Spivey, Joshua Stacey and Will Bayley made it straight through to the quarter-finals in class 5, class 9 and class 7 respectively.
ParalympicsGB impressed in their opening victory over Algeria
A trio of Brits also reached the last 16 of the men’s class 8 singles, with Aaron McKibbin, Billy Shilton and Ross Wilson all ending the group stage with one win and one defeat.
There were mixed results for GB’s wheelchair basketball teams, with the men storming to a convincing 70-43 opening win over Algeria, but the women being defeated for the second time against hosts Japan 54-48.
And Zoe Newson narrowly missed out on a medal at a third consecutive Games, finishing fourth in the women’s powerlifting -41kg event.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
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More fun in store on Friday
ParalympicsGB will be hoping to add to their collection of gongs on a third day of action that sees 45 medals up for grabs, with the penultimate day of track cycling full of British interest.
Kadeena Cox - who won medals in both cycling and athletics in Rio five years ago - looks to defend her C4-5 500m time trial in the velodrome (6:29am BST), while Van Gass and Graham go in the C1-3 1000m (5:20am BST).
Reece Dunn will be looking to add to his medal tally after scooping silver on day one
Maria Lyle did the T35 100m and 200m double at June’s European Championships and could claim GB’s first athletics medal at the Games over the shorter distance. The final is scheduled for 4:45am BST.
In the pool, Reece Dunn (9:28am BST) and Bethany Firth (9:35am BST) will be hoping to challenge for a medal in their respective 200m freestyle S14 events. Hannah Russell will aim to defend her 100m backstroke S12 title (9:06am BST).
Natasha Baker will look to add to ParalympicsGB’s equestrian success in the grade III individual test (11:14am BST), Ali Jawad will be gunning for powerlifting gold (3:00am BST) and the wheelchair rugby team play USA, medallists in Rio (9:30am BST).
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