ParalympicsGB pick up early medals on the track and in the Para-equestrian arena with more likely to follow in the pool on day six at the Paris Paralympics.
ParalympicsGB picked up early medals on the track and in the Para-equestrian arena with more likely to follow in the pool on day six at the Paris Paralympics.
Samantha Kinghorn won her second silver of the Games, putting in a strong performance on the track to come in second in the women’s T54 1500m.
Natasha Baker and Georgia Wilson added bronzes in the individual grade III and II Para-equestrian events at the Chateau de Versailles.
Gold medal-winning swimmers Ellie Challis and Tully Kearney progressed through their heats as they seek further medals in the evening session, while wheelchair tennis favourites Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid and table tennis player Will Bayley made it through their respective quarter-finals.
Monday’s results take GB’s Paris medal count to 57, including 29 golds – second only to China (92, including 45 golds), who have topped the table at the past five Games.
Kinghorn makes it two
Kinghorn made it a pair of Paris silvers, taking second place in the women’s T54 1500m.
The Scottish athlete, who’d already taken silver in the T53 800m and will race in the 100m on Wednesday, came in behind Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
Kinghorn, who has also presented Countryfile, admitted she stopped momentarily with 200m to go because she thought the race was over, but still powered home in a time of three minutes 16.01 seconds.
Team-mates Eden Rainbow-Cooper and Melanie Woods were seventh and eighth respectively.
Meanwhile, Nathan Maguire races this evening in the men’s T54 1500m final (20:10 BST).
Baker adds to medal haul
At some point, it becomes a question of storage.
Baker may need to build an extra shelf after she won her ninth Paralympic medal in the individual grade III event.
The 34-year-old, who has now won medals at the past four games, returned to action after the birth of her son Joshua in April 2023.
“I’m not as fit as I was in Tokyo, I’m juggling being the best mum I can be and the best athlete I can be,” said Baker, who scored 73.167 on Dawn Chorus.
“The juggle is real, you know on your computer when you have a million tabs open, that’s my brain at all times, anyone who is a mum will understand.”
Her success was mirrored by Wilson in the grade II competition, with the Tokyo medallist coming in third with a score of 73.414.
There was disappointment for world number one Mari Durward-Akhurst, who finished sixth in the Grade I competition, but the Games debutant will compete in two further events in the coming days.
Challis goes for gold again
What do you do the day after winning your first Paralympic gold medal? Why, go out and try and win another one.
Having triumphed in the women’s S3 50m backstroke yesterday, Challis kicked off her quest for a podium place in the 100m freestyle.
The 20-year-old confessed she was off for a nap, having not had much sleep after Monday’s gold-winning performance, but will return to the pool this evening alongside a number of other GB medal prospects.
Kearney already has two Paris golds in her collection, and she’s going for a third in the women’s S5 50m backstroke, finishing third in her heat to reach this evening’s session.
World champion Faye Rogers, an Olympic trialist in 2021 prior to suffering permanent damage to her arm in a car accident, was in dominant form in the women’s S10 100m butterfly, qualifying fastest for her final.
Meanwhile, twins Eliza and Scarlett Humphrey will race each other for the second time in the Games after reaching the final of the women’s SM11 200m individual medley.
GB stars move forward
Whether it was on the court or at the table, it was a good day for GB tennis.
Number one seeds Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid made light work of moving into the wheelchair tennis men’s singles semi-finals, beating the Dutch pair of Ruben Spaargaren and Maarten Ter Hofte 6-2 6-1 at Roland Garros.
Meanwhile four-time medallist Bayley defeated Germany’s Bjoern Schnake in the quarter-finals of the men’s MS7 singles, winning 11-5 9-11 11-6 11-5.
And if that’s not enough for you, this evening GB and Australia resume their old rivalry in the quarter-finals of the men’s wheelchair basketball (18:15).
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