It was an historic day for Great Britain on day two of the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games as the team hit the milestone of 100 Paralympic cycling medals since records began, quickly followed by four more for the team.
The 99th medal came in the shape of Blaine Hunt’s silver in the men’s C4-5 1km time-trial, followed by the milestone 100th from debutant Matt Robertson with a bronze medal in the men’s C2 individual pursuit.
Men’s C4-5 1km time-trial
The men’s C4-5 1km time-trial saw joy and heartache for GB as Blaine Hunt won a sensational silver medal in his first Paralympic Games, while eight-time Paralympian Jody Cundy just missed out on the podium, with a fourth-place finish. Archie Atkinson started his Paralympic campaign with a confident fifth place ride.
Hunt set a blistering qualifying time of 1:02.005, finishing in second just ahead of defending champion Alfonso Llamas Cabello. The final saw him back up his ride with an impressive 1:001.776 time, just 0.126 seconds behind Australia’s Korey Boddington to give him the silver medal.
On his first Paralympic medal, Hunt said: “It's just incredible, I'm trying to breathe and not get too emotional. I've loved racing in front of this crowd with my mates and the silver medal is just a byproduct of that.
“The levels in this sport are just incredible, the sport is being pushed on and on and it's just amazing to be part of it. We are all spurring each other on.”
Jody Cundy rode an initial time of 1:02.384, seeing him qualify fourth before giving everything to his second ride. The multiple Paralympic champion put in an impressive effort to finish in fourth place.
First-time Paralympian Atkinson had a fantastic first event, qualifying fifth in a time of 1:03.508, before almost matching his effort in the final with 1:03.538 to finish fifth overall in 1:03.538.
Men’s C2 3000m individual pursuit
Matt Robertson made himself known on his Paralympic debut, delivering an incredible qualifying ride that saw win ParalympicsGB’s 100th cycling medal ever.
The young rider had a fantastic start to the competition, breaking the Paralympic record by three seconds with a time of 3:28.373. His record stood for only a few minutes before it was broken consecutively by Ewoud Vromant (Germany) and Alexandre Leaute (France) in an intense qualifier, but it was enough to get him into the evening’s bronze medal ride.
Robertson executed a perfect ride to comfortably beat opponent Shota Kawamoto (Japan) in a time of 3:30.497 to take the bronze medal - his first ever elite-level medal for an individual event.
On his historic bronze medal, Robertston said: “I didn't feel incredible on the bike because this is so hard but I feel incredible now. This is the culmination of so much hard work and I can't tell you how special it is to be standing here with a medal.
“I just missed out on selection for Tokyo and it was really hard watching the guys on television, I wanted to be there and experiencing it so much. Now I've got my moment too.”
Men’s C3 3km individual pursuit
As expected, the men’s C3 3km individual pursuit saw a ferocious GB vs GB battle between Paralympic champion Jaco van Gass and Tokyo silver medallist Fin Graham.
Jaco van Gass clocked a world record time of 3:15.488 in qualifying, with Graham sailing to a time of 3:17.305 to see the British pair fight for the gold in the final.
Van Gass soared to the gold medal in the final, riding an incredible time of 3:18.460 to secure the Paralympic title, as Graham took the silver.
On retaining his gold, van Gass said:
“I’m overwhelmed, delighted, and generally happy it’s over to be honest. It has been a rollercoaster to this moment. I rode an average qualifier. I know I did well in time wise but in terms of how I executed the ride, it was not perfect so I knew I had something to work on for the final. It was just whether the legs would be there or not. It paid off so I’m just elated to be here.”
Women’s B 1km time-trial
Great Britain took two podium spots in the women’s B 1km time-trial, with Lizzi Jordan and Danni Khan securing the gold ahead of Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl in bronze.
Jordan and pilot Khan qualified fastest in 1:06.870, before storming the final ride in 1:06.976 and take the Paralympic title ahead of Australia.
Unwin and Holl repeated their success from the Tokyo Games with another bronze medal, clocking a time of 1:07.879 in their final ride.
Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall finished fourth in their third Paralympic Games.
On her gold medal win, Jordan said:
“It feels unreal really. It’s like a dream come true. I’ve worked really hard from the bottom to the top. It’s a great story and should be a good example for other people of what happens if you believe in what you can achieve.
“Sport has given me a sense of purpose, a sense of achievement, it’s saved me really. I’m an adrenaline junky really. So I came along to cycling and whizzing around the velodrome seemed really appealing and I love the sense of freedom it gives me. Being blind, I need a guide walking round so life is a bit slower now so shooting around the velodrome at 50/60kmph gives me that sense of speed again."
So far, Great Britain are at the top of the cycling medal table, with two gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
The third day of competition will see the women’s C1-3 500m time-trial, the men’s C1-3 1km time-trial and the men’s C4 and C5 individual pursuits.
