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Britain’s Sarah Storey yesterday clinched the women’s C4/5 500m time-trial for her second gold of the Paralympics and the ninth of her Games career, as her husband had a part to play in another victory.
The 33-year-old, who won five swimming golds before switching to cycling, won in a new personal best of 36.997secs, with Jennifer Schuble of the US in silver and Ruan Jianping of China taking bronze.
Storey’s husband, Barney, 34, had earlier guided Neil Fachie to gold in the men’s blind and visually impaired 1km time-trial in a new world record time of 1min 01.351secs.
Spain’s Jose Enrique Porto and Jose Antonio Villanueva took silver while Rinne Oost and Patrick Bos, of the Netherlands, won bronze.
Sarah Storey described the win as “just incredible”, as she now switches to the road races in a bid to equal wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson’s British women’s record of 11 Paralympic golds.
And she said of her husband: “It’s amazing. I’m so proud of him and all he has achieved.”
In the mens’ C4 individual pursuit over 4km, Carol-Eduard Novak of Romania, a silver medallist in Beijing, clocked 4min 42.000secs to take gold from the Czech Republic’s defending champion Jiri Jezek, while Britain’s Jody Cundy took bronze.
Cundy’s medal came a day after he reacted angrily to being disqualified in his favoured event the C4 1km individual pursuit, at which he had been unbeaten since 2006.
But he said the experience—and the 6,000-strong crowd—had spurred him on as he took the race from Colombia’s Diego German Duenas Gomez.
“I think if it had been one more lap I might have been struggling, I was pretty much on my last legs when I got near his rear wheel,” the British rider said.
“But with that crowd cheering me on that last lap, it was one of the most painful I’ve done, but one of the easiest I’ve done as well.”
Meanwhile in the pool, US swim team poster girl Victoria Arlen, who holds the women’s S6 100m and 400m freestyle world record, eased through her heat in the longer race to face Britain’s defending Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds.
But a decision was still pending on whether she was in the correct category, raising fears that she could be stripped of gold if she were to win.
Arlen, 17, said she had tried not to let the controversy affect her and described the situation as “a rollercoaster”.
“But I have an incredible team USA that’s been supporting me. It comes with the sport, I’m just happy to swim and represent my country,” she added.
In the morning session of athletics at a packed Olympic Stadium, double amputee Richard Whitehead, of Britain, took gold in the men’s T42 200m in a new world record of 24.38secs.
Cuba took the gold and silver in the men’s F13 long jump, with Luis Felipe Gutierrez setting a new Paralympic record of 7.54m to win, while Angel Jimenez Cabeza jumping into second place with 7.14m.
Marouna Ibrahmi, of Tunisia, set a new world record in the women’s F31/32/51 club throw.
There were more world bests in the Velodrome, as Britain’s Neil Fachie and guide rider Barney Storey—husband of multiple Paralympic gold medallist Sarah—took the individual 1km time-trial for blind and visually-impaired riders.
Compatriot Jody Cundy, who reacted angrily to being disqualified in the C4/5 1km time-trial on Friday, secured a bronze medal ride-off in the C4 individual pursuit later on Saturday.
Romania’s Carol-Eduard Novak goes head-to-head for gold in that race with the Czech Republic’s Jiri Jezek.
Michael Gallagher was looking to add to Australia’s cycling medal tally in the equivalent C5 race, going against former British Royal Air Force weapons technician Jon-Allan Butterworth, who already has a silver in the C5 kilo.