Flurry of victories takes ParalympicsGB to second in Rio medal table

The 37-year-old from Wisbech won the C4/C5 one-kilometres time-trial in one minute 04.492 seconds to claim his sixth Games gold, 20 years after his first and four years after the expletive-laden rant which changed perceptions of Paralympians.

Tom Aggar had to settle for bronze in the corresponding men’s event.

On what fast became Super Sunday, there were also golds for Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley in the mixed double sculls and the mixed coxed four.

The four of James Fox, Pam Relph, Dan Brown and Grace Clough shouted and punched the air as the Paralympics squad looked to repeat the success on the water than their Olympic colleagues had achieved.

“This crew has come together brilliantly”.

“The fact that we broke the world record in the heats, we knew there were a few little things we could tweak and we just got it all right in that last ride”.

“It’s insane to think that two years ago I was diagnosed (with MS)”.

“I didn’t come down as quickly as I wanted to – I was on a high”, she added. “I got a lot of conditioning from athletics but rowing taught me why I love sport and why I especially love rowing”.

“We just really enjoyed every second of it, picking up these medals in front of this fantastic crowd”. “I have only been doing it a year and a half and being on top of the world is fantastic”. I’m so glad to have done it just to show other people with multiple sclerosis and other conditions that you can do awesome things.

“There were days when I could have walked away some days but for the end prize to be Paralympic gold, I would have done it again in a heartbeat”.

It was Li’s second Paralympic gold medal after his triumph in the C1-2-3 1000m time trial in London four years ago. It’s going to be one of those days where you have a cheesy grin fixed on your face.

Team South Africa’s Paralympic medal chase is off to a golden start after swimmer Kevin Paul powered his way to breaststroke gold in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night. The London-born athlete had to wait until Beijing – his third games – to grab gold for the first time, but won another just days later.

“And‚ despite all my first-time race effects‚ I still swam an S13 100m fly African record and have had the experience of a lifetime swimming my first “big race”‚ which I will never forget”, she said.