Sarah Storey, Hannah Cockcroft and 10 of Britain’s big medal hopes at the Paris Paralympics
ParalympicsGB finished second in the medal table at Tokyo 2020
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Your support makes all the difference.ParalympicsGB travel to the Paris Games seeking to emulate the fine form which saw the team finish second in the medal table at Tokyo 2020.
Here, the PA news agency picks out 10 of Britain’s best hopes for gold.
Dame Sarah Storey (Cycling)
Britain’s most successful Paralympian has ambitions of adding to her 17 career gold medals.
Storey will defend her C5 time trial and C4-5 road race crowns at the ninth Games of a glittering career.
The 46-year-old former swimmer holds a 100 per cent Paralympic record on the bike, spanning 12 races.
Hannah Cockroft (Wheelchair racing)
Seven-time champion Cockroft is unbeaten at the Paralympics.
She will look to maintain that record by retaining her T34 100m and 800m titles.
The 32-year-old is a 16-time world champion and just four Paralympic golds short of the 11 won by fellow wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Dan Pembroke (Javelin)
Setting a new world record to retain the F13 title is Pembroke’s target for Paris.
The visually-impaired athlete was last year just 51 centimetres short of the global best mark of 71.01m.
Pembroke believes the return of spectators following his behind-closed-doors triumph in Tokyo will help him “unleash a big, big throw”.
Dave Ellis (Triathlon)
Ellis suffered frustration in Tokyo when his bike chain snapped, forcing him to pull out.
Alongside guide Luke Pollard, the visually-impaired 38-year-old bounced back from that setback by claiming the world and Commonwealth titles in 2022.
He retained world champion status last year and could complete the gap in his medal collection.
Maisie Summers-Newton (Swimming)
Double Paralympic champion Summers-Newton was among the breakthrough stars of Tokyo.
The 22-year-old outshone Ellie Simmonds to win the 200m medley and 100m breaststroke titles and looks well positioned to replicate that feat in France.
She clinched Commonwealth gold in the 200m medley in 2022 and is reigning world champion in both events.
Will Bayley (Table tennis)
Bayley won individual class seven gold at Rio 2016 but had to settle for silver in Tokyo after working his way back from a serious knee injury suffered on Strictly Come Dancing.
The 36-year-old wants to reclaim the title to realise his dream of being Paralympic, world and European champion simultaneously.
David Smith (Boccia)
Britain’s most successful boccia player of all time has won five medals across four Paralympics, including three golds.
Smith – GB’s flag bearer for the Tokyo closing ceremony – is world number one and bidding to top the podium in the individual BC1 event for the third Games in a row.
Lizzi Jordan (Cycling)
Visually-impaired Games debutant Jordan and her tandem pilot Danni Khan clinched a hat-trick of gold medals in March at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
Two of the those events – the 1km time trial and the 3km pursuit – feature on the schedule for Paris.
Alfie Hewett (Wheelchair tennis)
Paralympic glory has so far proved elusive for the 30-time grand slam winner.
Hewett is a back-to-back doubles silver medallist alongside Gordon Reid and also lost the Rio 2016 singles final to his long-term doubles partner.
The reigning Wimbledon singles champion is no stranger to clay-court success at Roland Garros.
Jack Eyers (Paracanoe)
Eyers is likely to turn heads in more ways than one.
The chiselled 35-year-old was the first amputee to be crowned Mr England.
He goes into his maiden Paralympics as two-time world and reigning European champion in the VL3 event and with ambitions of further enhancing his remarkable journey from catwalk to canoe.
PA