Paralympics LIVE: Great Britain’s Brock Whiston wins silver on Games debut at Paris 2024
ParalympicsGB’s Jaco van Gass, Lizzi Jordan and Tully Kearney also won golds on day two
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The Paralympic Games kicked off in fine fashion on Thursday as the action got underway at Paris 2024.
And day two was another golden day for Paralympics GB who added to their medal tally with incredible performances in the pool and on the velodrome track.
Blaine Hunt started the medal rush with a silver in the men’s C4-5 1000m time trial at the velodrome before Matt Robertson won bronze in the men’s C2 3000m individual pursuit. Jaco van Gass then defeated GB teammate Finlay Graham in the C3 3000m individual pursuit to claim ParalympicsGB’s first gold medal of the day with Graham also adding a silver.
Elizabeth Jordon and pilot Dannielle Khan were also victorious as they won Britain’s fourth gold of the Games win the women’s B 1000m time trial while Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl also won bronze.
In the pool, Tully Kearney added to the gold medley she won in the women’s S5 200m freestyle yesterday by triumphing in the 100m event this afternoon and Maisie Summers-Newton defended her title in the women’s SM6 200m medley.
Elsewhere, Zachary Shaw qualified for the final of the men’s T12 100m, while team-mate Eden Rainbow-Cooper also progressed in the women’s T54 5000m.
Follow all the action, latest results and medals from Paris 2024 in our live blog below:
Robertson wins bronze in individual persuit
Here’s a few photos of Matt Robertson winning bronze in the velodrome:
Blaine Hunt reacts to winning silver medal
Blaine Hunt won the silver medal in the men’s C4-5 1,000m time trial final and gave his reaction to Channel 4 saying: “[The medal is] heavy. My legs are heavy. It was a lot of hard work, seven years. All my family are over there and my daughter.
“I feel I can finally take a break and be a dad for a bit because I put so much trying to get this. It just means so much.
“My wife sleeps with three bikes in the bedroom. At least one in the front room. There’s about five in the shed.
“I miss out on family things. My nan died before I came here. They’re postponing the funeral so I can be there. It’s things like that you miss out on.
“I’m just glad that’ve I’ve come out on the lucky side and I am able to go home with something.”
Robertson wins bronze in individual persuit
Matt Robertson is going for a medal in the men’s C2 3,000m individual pursuit. He’s up against Japan’s Shoto Kawamoto.
Robertson has started strongly but is just pacing himself over the first half of this race. Kawamoto is more than capable of cutting the gap which is hovering at around a second.
At the halfway mark, Robertson increases that to 1.3 seconds with six laps of the track to go. Robertson looks strong but he’ll need to finish well.
With two laps to go his lead is almost three seconds. Robertson is going to do it...
... bronze for Matt Robertson! A time of 3:30.508 earns him a medal at the Paralympic Games. Fantastic result.
‘I gave everything’ says Cundy
Jody Cundy finished fourth in the time trial final and spoke to Channel 4. He said: “[It’s] just not to be. I gave it everything. I’m not a million miles off my best here and I tried to back it up this afternoon.
“I did pretty much the same time as this morning but everything I had in my legs is gone.
“It would have been nice to be on the medal board, but we’ve got the team sprint in a couple of days so get all the focus back on that and we can come back because we’ve got Kadeena [Cox] with a point to prove.
“A little bit disappointed but everything I do, I try to perform at my best. A whole bunch of people have contributed to my whole career. I feel like I can give it everything and hopefully it can be enough but unfortunately it wasn’t.”
Munro ‘emotional’ after taekwondo loss
Beth Munro said she felt “really emotional” after losing her K44 -65kg quarter-final.
“I had a clear plan and I just didn’t execute it - I just left it too late to try and win the points back,” she said, “I feel really emotional at the moment, I’m probably going to go away and cry for a bit, let it sink in. I’m truly sorry.
“I just feel that I’ve let my family and friends down who have come all this way to support me, and my coach.
“It just didn’t go the way I wanted it to but unfortunately that is sport. I’ll take the loss, I’ll hold the grief for a while, and I’ll move on and see what happens next.”
Blaine Hunt wins silver in men’s C4-5 time trail
Blaine Hunt wins silver in men’s C4-5 time trail
Jody Cundy says he’s a little disappointed after finishing in fourth place and missing out on a medal but says that his time was all he could manage.
He said: “Hopefully it would be enough, but today is wasn’t.”
Blaine Hunt wins silver in men’s C4-5 time trail
Spain’s Alfonso Cabello is the man who Hunt knocked out of first place. Jody Cundy is currently in the bronze medal position. The only man left to spoil the party for Great Britain is Korey Boddington of Australia.
He was rapid this morning and if he can match that then the gold will be his.
Boddington gets away well and is up on Hunt’s time already. At the halfway stage he’s half a second ahead but Hunt finished strongly.
The Australia hears the bell for the final lap and he isn’t slipping. Boddington holds on and crosses the line 0.126 seconds quicker than the Brit.
Boddington wins gold and Hunt takes silver!
Brits go for gold in velodrome
Cundy has been forced into second with two riders to go. Blaine Hunt is Great Britain’s final chance at winning gold. He needs to beat a time of one minute one second.
Hunt gets away but he’s seventh tenths down at the first marker which means there’s work to do. As the race goes on he needs a rapid final lap.
He’s two-tenths down heading round the final corner... he does it! Hunt moves into first place by just 0.193!
He’s guaranteed at least a silver medal now and went quicker than his qualifying ride. There’s one cyclist left to go. Can Hunt secure gold?
Brits go for gold in velodrome
Next up to the track is Jody Cundy.
He qualified in fourth place but is a serial winner. He’s won five gold medals on the track in his time as a paralympian, and has twice won this event.
At 45-years-old which more can he give?
Cundy kicks off his ride and is half a second up on Atkinson. Can he maintain and maybe improve on that? Yes! At the halfway mark he’s a full second ahead.
One lap to go, Cundy goes full throttle and crosses the line in a rapid time of 1:02.504! Surely that’ll be good enough for a medal. There’s three riders still to go and they are all fantastic.
Let’s see how this final plays out. Cundy currently leads the way.
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