Key events
Great Britain won three gold medals in this morning’s para-rowing events. Read Paul MacInnes’ report from Vaires-sur-Marne here:
China lead Great Britain 24-17 in the women’s wheelchair basketball group stage match. We’re now in the second quarter.
ParalympicsGB are now in action over at the Bercy Arena, where they are facing China in the women’s wheelchair basketball group stage. China currently lead 10-5 in the first quarter.
What a moment for the British trio. Kadeena Cox was left heartbroken after suffering a crash during her C4-5 500m time trial final on Thursday. Jody Cundy missed out on a medal in his C4-5 1000m time trial on Friday. And while he won gold in the men’s C3 pursuit earlier this week, Jaco van Gass was disappointed after finishing fourth in the C1-3 1000M time trial on Saturday.
All three para-cyclists have bounced back to win gold in the final velodrome event of Paris 2024. Amazing.
Cox, Cundy and Van Gass win gold
Great Britain’s Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy win gold in the final track para-cycling event of the 2024 Paralympic Games with a faultless run! They finish with a time of 47.738 seconds. What a performance! What a moment! It’s GB’s fifth gold medal in the velodrome!
All eyes are on the velodrome once again as ParalympicsGB’s Kadeena Cox, Jody Cundy and Jaco van Gass go for gold in the C1-5 750m team sprint final. They face Ricardo Ten Argiles, Pablo Jaramillo Gallardo and Alfonso Cabello Llamas of Spain.
Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl won a bronze and a silver medal in Toyko three years ago, but they have now completed the set with that women’s B 3000m individual pursuit gold.
Unwin told Channel 4: “This was the event we wanted, we set out the goal after the World Championships last year, we said ‘pursuit is what we want’, we tried something totally new coming into this and we weren’t sure it was going to work out for us, but just incredible. fter the World Championships, Jenny went ‘let’s going for the world record’ and I was like ‘yeah, sure Jenny!’’’
Holl went on to add: “We’ve completed the set, when you include our Tokyo medals, we’re done!”
Stephen McGuire booked his spot in the men’s BC4 boccia final this morning. The 40-year-old earned a 5-3 win over Croatia’s Davor Komar in the semi-finals and is now guaranteed a medal.
Following his win, McGuire said: “It’s incredible. It’s 20 years’ hard work, I’ve wanted this for 20 years. I’ve been working with my coach for 10 years so it’s been a long, long process. To finally get that medal for myself and ParalympicsGB is a dream come true.
“To say I’m a Paralympic medallist is a dream come true. To represent ParalympicsGB is a privilege but to win a medal for them and for myself, after a 20-year process is the cherry on top of the cake.
“I’ll certainly enjoy the final. I perform well in finals, there’s no pressure as you’ve made it to the end. I’ve enjoyed the whole event and I will enjoy the final.”
Discussing his gold medal win, Great Britain’s James Ball told Channel 4: “Unbelievable. The way it is done with the kilo and the seeding and just waiting for your turn to go up and then yeah, we knew we’d have to follow something big from Matt and Neil, this is how it’s always gone. I think the last time we won the kilo was 2019 so yeah, we’ve just been chasing them.
“Usually, the longer the partnership can gel and learn from each other, usually gets the better times, the faster times but basically we’re trying to match them in the first [500m], that’s their absolute strongest part which we didn’t have, so we worked on a long time on this and it’s paid off today.
“It just makes everything worth it. I know everyone says that but the people, the staff, they want it just as much as we do, even though they’re not competing and that’s something special and I feel like British Cycling has got a lot in that department and so this is for anyone who has ever believed in us so, even my past pilots behind me, everyone really, we’re always trying to win and do our best and I couldn’t be happier.”
Sophie Unwin wins gold
What a race! Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl take gold in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit following an absolute thriller! Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal were leading for over half the race, but Unwin and Holl managed to pull it back and win with a time of 3:19.149. Amazing!
It’s time for the gold medal race in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit. Great Britain’s Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl face Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal.
Lora Fachie takes bronze
Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall take the bronze medal following a dominant performance against Elizabeth Jordan and Danielle Khan in the velodrome.
Next up, Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall face fellow Brits Elizabeth Jordan and Danielle Khan in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit bronze medal race.
James Ball wins gold for Great Britain
James Ball and pilot Steffan Lloyd have won gold in the men’s B 1000m time trial with a time of 58.964 seconds. Fellow Brits Neil Fachie and Matthew Rotherham take silver in a 1-2 finish for ParalympicsGB.
Germany’s Thomas Ulbricht and Robert Foerstemann claim bronze.
Paralympics GB trio Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy qualified for the C1-5 700m mixed team sprint this morning in the velodrome after recording a time of 48.493 seconds. They will now go for gold in the final this afternoon.
Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett beat Israel’s Sergei Lysov in the second round of the men’s singles in wheelchair tennis this morning. Hewett won in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 and dropped just one game.
Britain win four medals in rowing
ParalympicsGB won three gold medals in para-rowing this morning. Benjamin Pritchard won his PR1 men’s single sculls final to take the Paralympic title, while Gregg Stevenson and Lauren Rowles took the top spot in the PR2 mixed double sculls.
Annie Caddick and Sam Murray then took silver in the PR3 mixed double sculls before Frankie Allen, Josh O’Brien, Giedrė Rakauskaitė, Ed Fuller and Erin Kennedy won gold in the PR3 mixed coxed four.
It takes ParalympicsGB’s total medal tally up to 29 – 14 golds, nine silver and six bronze.
Para-triathlon postponed
The para-triathlon events that were scheduled to take place today have been postponed to tomorrow due to the decrease in water quality of the River Seine. The decision was made following a meeting between Paris 2024 and World Triathlon officials at 3:30am this morning.
A statement read: “The latest tests show a decrease in water quality in the river following the rain episodes over the last two days. As a result, the water quality at the competition venue on Sunday 1 September is not suitable for swimming and above the threshold established by World Triathlon. It has been decided to schedule all 11 Para triathlon medal events on 2 September. This is subject to the forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming.
“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes and with these conditions, the Para triathlon events cannot take place today.”
David Smith qualified for the BC1 boccia semi-finals this morning with a 6-1 win over Slovakia’s Tomas Kral.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to day four of the Paralympic Games! Great Britain won 10 medals on day three, five of which were gold. Three more golds were added to the tally this morning in the para-rowing, with many more up for grabs as we head through the day. Para-athletics, para-archery, boccia, para-cycling track and wheelchair basketball are among the sports scheduled for this afternoon and evening.
I’ll be with you throughout the day – join me!
