TeamGB blows competition out of the water during this weekend’s Paralympics “Gold Rush”
As I read through these heartwarming stories of resilience and triumph, I can’t help but be moved by the indomitable spirit of these incredible athletes. Each story is a testament to their unyielding determination, their relentless pursuit of excellence, and their remarkable ability to inspire not just their fellow competitors, but an entire nation.
It’s almost always a great practice to announce race results in all capital letters, as demonstrated by the ParalympicsGB social media post on Sunday: “That’s TWELVE GOLD MEDALS for today!” The team of Ellard, Newman-Baronius, Darbey, and Maskill secured the victory in the 4x100M freestyle relay. Team Great Britain achieved incredible feats this past weekend, and here are the key highlights.
“Another golden day”
On September 1st, the ParalympicsGB website radiated uncontainable enthusiasm. A statement declared that “on this day, precision and skill were showcased as Stephen McGuire, Jodie Grinham, and Nathan Macqueen clinched a double gold medal at the Paralympics.” It was a remarkable day filled with first-time achievements, shattered records, and heartwarming conclusions for athletes across various sports.
Today saw GOLD in the 4x100m freestyle relay for Team GB! This brings their total to TWELVE gold medals today, a record for the most won in a single day by ParalympicsGB this century. What an incredible day! #ParalympicsGB 🥇 🏆
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 1, 2024
Jodie Grinham, who had earlier secured a bronze medal in an individual archery contest, went on to triumph in the mixed team archery event with Nathan Macqueen. Their impressive scores edged out the Iranian team for the victory. It’s worth noting that Grinham is competing while seven months pregnant, a feat that calls for tremendous resilience, especially considering she’s participating in such demanding international competition. Macqueen, her partner, mentioned, “Being parents ourselves and high-performance athletes means there’s a lot of sacrifice involved, as we often find ourselves away from our children.”
Stephen McGuire won in Boccia in his fourth Paralympics in a performance that attested to his nickname of “Mr. Strategy.” The sport is only played in the Paralympics and is played by athletes “with a disability affecting locomotor function. It’s a game of control, accuracy and tactics and McGuire loves outthinking rivals.” Said McGuire, “Any sport where i can think a few moves ahead I love. My whole game is about tactics, my power is not the best, so I love getting the strategy right.”
“A bit unreal”
Megan Richter, who won a gold medal in the PTS4 triathlon, jokingly expressed that her astonishment was beyond measure at the peak of victory.
I could feel my legs starting to go but I knew I needed to get to the end…Things just came together and I’m so happy, the timing has been perfect.
In the men’s PTVI division, teammate Dave Ellis clinched the victory, cheered on by family and friends wearing red and blue shirts, along with his guide Luke Pollard. Expressing his feelings about the win, Ellis mentioned, “Winning Paralympic races isn’t guaranteed, so the nerves were heightened. It feels extraordinary to have come through.” Meanwhile, Dave’s partner Claire Cashmore secured the silver in the women’s PTS5 event, narrowly beating Team Great Britain’s Lauren Steadman. Despite being unable to watch Ellis during his race, Cashmore expressed her happiness for him and his achievement, saying, “I was under so much stress not being able to watch him, but I’m thrilled he had his moment.” Truly heartwarming sportsmanship from this inspiring couple.
Making another splash
In a remarkable turn of events at La Defense Arena, Team Great Britain maximized their brief moment of notoriety, which has been particularly significant for them in recent years. In this short timeframe, they clinched two gold medals in swimming, with Tokyo silver medalists Ellie Challis and Louise Fiddes upgrading their medals to gold at the Paris games. Specifically, Challis triumphed in the women’s S3 50m backstroke, while Fiddes excelled in the S14m 100m breaststroke. Fiddes attributed her success to the inspiring performance of her close friend, stating, “If she can do it, I can do it too.”
David Bethell hoped to take gold in badminton, but he again won a silver medal in parabadminton.
High excitement in the Stade de France
The first medal in para athletics was a silver medal in the wheelchair racing 800m T53. She recounts that fellow teammate Hannah Cockroft embraced her and encouraged her with a simple statement: “Believe in yourself, you got it.” Cockroft defended her title in the T34 100m title in 16.80s. The silver went to British athlete Kare Adenegan, who trailed by 1.19 seconds.
During the F20 competition, Sabrina Fortune clinched the gold medal in shot put. Fortune, a seasoned athlete at her fourth Paralympic Games, admitted to feeling some jitters, but the encouragement she received made all the difference for her.
My wheels were buzzing, I was trying to find my grip. The last time I felt like that was London 2012 and I couldn’t be upset, look at those stands, they are full which is what we want.
On a winning streak
Every time the Paralympics roll around, there’s always chatter about defending titles. As a part of that esteemed mixed coxed four team consisting of Ed Fuller, me (Giedre Rakauskaite), Josh O’Brien, and Frankie Allen, I was lucky to be coxed by Erin Kennedy, who helped us extend the longest winning streak in British sports. We’ve been racking up titles since 2010, with a grand total of 25 under our belts. On the 18th anniversary of my disabling car accident, I found myself standing victorious once more. This victory served as an inspiration to me, reminding me of how far I’ve come and what I’m capable of achieving despite the challenges I faced on that fateful day.
Every single year we have been pushing ourselves on and we’ve taken trust from team-mates before us…There has always been an overlap of at least one or two team-mates from previous Games and we just drew on everything we could from them, trying to make them proud as well as our friends and family.
In rowing competition, Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson claimed victory in the mixed double sculls event. Remarkably, this is Rowles’ third Paralympic win, making her the first rower to achieve such a feat. When asked about her feelings, Rowles replied, “Making history feels amazing, doesn’t it?” For Stevenson, this race marked his first gold medal win. He expressed that “The dedication required, I’ve battled with that in the past. I just want to serve as an inspiration for my children.”
Benjamin Pritchard placed fifth initially in the men’s single sculls event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, but he meticulously worked on analyzing the 2000m race course over a span of three years to ultimately surpass Italy’s Giacomo Perini and secure the gold medal. Winning in such a manner was particularly noteworthy for him.
The silver medal in mixed double sculls went to Sam Murray and Annie Caddick. Murray returned to the sport after a 5-year hiatus and described the experience of coming to Paris to be “quite surreal,” since “the Paralympics wasn’t even on my horizon.”
Many athletes have made significant progress in their respective sports, and it’s exciting to anticipate the rewards of their dedication and effort in the near future.
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2024-09-03 07:32