Poppy Maskill and Tully Kearney both claimed stunning
golds as Great Britain won a total of six medals on the opening day at the
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Maskill, 19, set a world record to deliver ParalympicsGB's
first gold in the French capital, winning the women's 100m butterfly S14 title
in one minute 03.00 seconds.
World record holder Kearney then upgraded her Tokyo silver
in the women's 200m freestyle S5 to put the British team second in the medal
table behind China.
Teenager Will Ellard earlier won men's 100m butterfly S14
silver in the pool, after Daphne Schrager and Steve Bate also clinched silvers
in the track cycling.
However, team-mate and four-time Paralympic champion Kadeena
Cox was left distraught after she crashed out of her gold medal race at the
velodrome.
There was also Para-table tennis bronze for 14-year-old Bly
Twomey and team-mate Felicity Pickard in the women's doubles W14 as the British
team made a superb start to the 11 days of competition.
ParalympicsGB
off to golden start in pool
Maskill and Kearney starred for ParalympicsGB as the British
team made a golden start in the pool on the first evening of Para-swimming
action at La Defense Arena.
Maskill shone on her Paralympic debut, delivering her
nation's first gold moments after team-mate Ellard had taken silver in the
men's race - a feeling she described as "unreal".
The world silver medallist finished ahead of Hong Kong's
world champion Yui Lam Chan and Neutral Paralympic athlete Valeriia Shabalina.
"I was just hoping to swim my hardest and see what
happens and that's what I did. This gives me so much confidence for my other
events," said Maskill.
"Being here at my first Paralympics feels unreal. My
mum, dad, sister and nan are here and I can't wait to see them."
In the final event of the night, Kearney made it double gold
delight for GB as the 27-year-old held off the challenge of Ukraine's Iryna
Poida in the closing stages.
That came three years after Kearney missed out to China's Li
Zhang by 0.12 seconds in the event - although she did win gold in the 100m
freestyle S5.
"I'm just absolutely ecstatic and a bit speechless. I
really wanted redemption from Tokyo," Kearney said.
"To be able to get here means a lot to me. Even a few
weeks ago we weren't sure if I was going to come out and compete, or how many
events I would be able to do."
Ellard, 18, was the first British Para-swimming medallist
with his silver. The European champion led for much of the final but Denmark's
Alexander Hillhouse overhauled him for gold, winning by 0.25 seconds.
Schrager
wins GB's first medal in the velodrome
Debutant Schrager won GB's first medal of the Games in the
women's C1-3 3000m individual pursuit, the 23-year-old losing out to Xiaomei
Wang of China in the gold medal race despite setting a world record in her C2
classification.
Wang finished nearly 10 seconds ahead of Schrager, world
champion at C2 level, and almost lapped her in the process of setting a new C3
world record.
"I'm very privileged to have got a medal at all and to
do it in front of my family and friends and the whole team is an amazing
achievement," said Schrager, who was presented her medal by cinema legend
Jackie Chan on the podium.
Schrager's success was swiftly followed by another
Para-cycling silver, achieved by team-mate Bate and his pilot Chris Latham in
the men's B 4000m individual pursuit.
In the final track event, Bate and Latham finished 2.2
seconds behind world record holders Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos of the
Netherlands, who retained their title in a repeat of the Tokyo final.
The 47-year-old Bate, gold medallist in Rio, and Latham
smashed the world record in the heats, but that was bettered by the Dutch pair
in the next heat - and again in the final.
Heartbreak
for gold medal hope Cox
The velodrome also witnessed heartbreak for one of the
team's big gold medal hopes.
Cox's bid for glory was ended by an early fall in the
women's C4-5 500m time trial final, won by the Netherlands' Caroline Groot.
The 33-year-old Briton, who endured a turbulent build-up to
the Games following a recurrence of her multiple sclerosis which left her unable
to walk, and a calf injury, had to be assisted off the track but avoided
serious injury.
The first British athlete to win gold medals in two
different sports - cycling and athletics - in the same Games at Rio 2016, Cox
will now hope to contest the open C1-5 750m team sprint on Sunday.
"It was a weird one. I didn't feel comfortable in the
gate. My right side is my weak side and I think I overcompensated," said
Cox.
"I got back on the bike two weeks ago. I was in a boot
four weeks ago. It has just been a really rubbish year. This time last year I
couldn't walk because I had a really bad relapse that affected my right side.
"It has been a rollercoaster, I guess that's MS. It's
just not what you want a year out from the Games. The fact that I got here was
amazing in itself."
Twomey,
14, becomes Paralympic medalist
Twomey made history as Great Britain's youngest Paralympic
table tennis medalist as she took bronze on her Games debut alongside team-mate
Pickard, 30.
"It's amazing because I am so young. I wouldn't have
done this without Fliss so I am really proud to have her by my side,"
Twomey said.
"It feels amazing, the atmosphere is just incredible.
I'm really proud to get a medal at my first Paralympic Games and I think it
means a lot to be doing it at 14."
The British pair recorded a 3-0 win against a Norwegian pair
in their quarter-final match to guarantee a medal, but missed out on the gold
medal match after losing to China's Wenjuan Huang and Yucheng Jin.
'I'm
pregnant, so what?'
Seven-month pregnant para-archer Jodie Grinham competed in
the heats of the women's individual compound on day one.
Rio 2016 silver medallist Grinham, 31, is believed to be the
first woman that far into pregnancy to have been selected for
the British Paralympic team, and hopes she can send out a powerful message to
women.
The Briton progressed to the last 16 after setting a personal
best score of 693 to place fourth overall, while team-mate and defending
champion Phoebe Patterson Pine will hope to join her in the next phase.
"It's brilliant to get that score, I want to compete. I
didn't want this Games to just be about a pregnant woman taking part, I wanted
to be competitive," Grinham said.
"I'm pregnant, so what? If I worked in an office they'd
be fine with me working there until I'm 39 weeks pregnant. What's the
difference competing at the Paralympics? I want to be a mother and an athlete.
I'm not willing to sacrifice either of them."
