ParalympicsGB swimmers enjoyed a Super Saturday in Paris, collecting five medals – including three golds – in a 40-minute flurry at La Défense Arena, and breaking two world records in the process.
The deluge helped solidify Great Britain’s spot in second place in the medal table – China having disappeared over the horizon at the top – on a day in which joy in the pool was matched by heartbreak at the velodrome, where a late crash denied Archie Atkinson a seemingly certain gold.
Stephen Clegg kicked things off in the pool with a dominant swim in the S12 100m backstroke, coming home nearly two seconds ahead of his nearest rivals in a world record time of 59.02sec.
The Scot had collected three medals at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 but none of them the gold he so desperately wanted. Such was his frustration after those Games that he took a break from the pool and turned to jujitsu in an attempt to refresh his mindset. That has paid off handsomely, and his performance bodes well for his chances in the butterfly and freestyle later in Paris.
“I’m speechless. I wanted to bury my head in the sand after Tokyo,” the 28-year-old told Channel 4. “I think coming into this I wanted to get the monkey off my back. This gold has been a long time coming. The pressure is off a bit in terms of that barrier. What a way to start.”
Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush wrote their names into the history books by grabbing Great Britain's maiden Paralympic taekwondo golds on a milestone evening in Paris.
Truesdale triumphed in the women's K44 +65kg event when the defending champion, Guljonoy Naimova, was dramatically stretchered out of the final. With the Briton dominating and leading 8-1, the Uzbek fighter stayed down following a kick to the throat before withdrawing from the contest.
Chester-born Truesdale [pictured] faced an anxious wait to discover her fate after her rival departed in distress. She was shown a yellow card, with officials accepting the kick to the throat was not intentional, costing her a point but securing an 8-2 victory and allowing her to celebrate success.
Welshman Bush backed up his teammate's landmark success by beating neutral athlete Aliaskhab Ramazanov 5-0 in the showpiece match of the men's K44 +80kg event at the Grand Palais. The double gold takes ParalympicsGB's total in Paris to 11, as they stay second only to China in the medal table. PA Media
Clegg was followed on to the top step of the podium by William Ellard in the S14 200m freestyle. The 18-year-old from Suffolk said the buildup was “probably the most nervous I’ve ever been before a race” but betrayed no sign of nerves as he took gold by a distance, his time of 1min 51.30sec another world record.
Alice Tai secured a third gold for Britain three minutes later in the women’s S8 100m backstroke. The 25-year-old, who was born with bilateral talipes (also known as clubfoot), is an eight-time world champion and won a gold at the Rio Games in 2016.
Tai missed Tokyo through injury – instead having to settle for a spot on the punditry sofa – and in 2022 had her right leg amputated below the knee due to increasing pain in her foot. She has returned to her best since then and her performance in Paris was sensational, coming home almost six seconds ahead of the field.
There was also a double for ParalympicsGB in the women’s S14 200m freestyle, with Poppy Maskill picking up a silver to add to the gold she won in the 100m butterfly, and Louise Fiddes a bronze as neutral athlete Valeriia Shabalina won gold.
Earlier there was drama in the velodrome as Atkinson tumbled to the boards in the men’s C4 4,000m individual pursuit final. With less than two laps to go the 20-year-old crashed when well clear of his opponent and had to be helped from the track, though his silver medal proved some consolation.
“I just ran out of energy and went down but I’m so proud, so happy,” he said. “A world record and a silver medal, I wouldn’t have believed that in my wildest dream.” Jaco van Gass narrowly missed out on another medal, after his gold on Friday, breaking the world record but finishing fourth after time adjustments in the C1-3 1,000m time trial.
In the table tennis, the British pair of Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton were forced to settle for bronze in the MD14 men’s doubles after a 3-0 defeat against the No 1 seeds from Thailand in their semi-final at the South Paris Arena.
“When we were leading we could have been a bit more positive,” said Welshman Karabardak, a silver and bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020, following the 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 loss. “Had we taken one of those first two sets it might have been a different game – that’s sport and we have to give them credit for taking their opportunities.”
GB’s men’s wheelchair basketball team made it two wins out of two in the group stage with an impressive 88-58 win over the London 2012 gold medallists Canada, with the captain Philip Pratt contributing 20 points.
The women’s team, though, were beaten 63-54 in their group-stage game against Canada. “The most important thing from this is staying together and staying united,” said the captain, Sophie Carrigill. “We’ll keep our heads up.”
• This article was amended on 1 September 2024 to correct the spelling of Louise Fiddes’ last name.
