Lee Pearson, who won 12 gold medals at the Paralympics in Tokyo, has been crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The British team have enjoyed success across four sports with their cycling and swimming teams winning a total of 18 medals.
The Tokyo Paralympics is a sporting event that takes place every four years. In 2020, the games will take place in Tokyo.
Tully Kearney’s gold in the S5 100m freestyle followed her silver in the S5 200m freestyle on the first day of competition.
| Tokyo, Japan is the location. Time in Tokyo: BST +8 Dates: 24 August-5 September |
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On day two of the Tokyo Paralympics, Lee Pearson earned his 12th Paralympic gold medal as Great Britain won five gold medals in four disciplines.
The para-equestrian rider, who made his debut in Sydney in 2000, won the Grade II individual test on his horse Breezer, with teammate Georgia Wilson coming in third.
A trio of Paralympic debutants, cyclist Jaco van Gass and swimmers Tully Kearney and Maisie Summers-Newton, broke world records on their route to gold medals.
Piers Gilliver, a wheelchair fencer who won silver in Rio, went one better this time in the epee A final.
Van Gass, 35, who was wounded while serving with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan in 2009, won the C3 3,000m solo pursuit final against teammate Fin Graham.
In qualifying for the final, both riders broke the world record, with Graham shaving more than six seconds off the previous mark before Van Gass slashed it by another two seconds to three minutes 17.593 seconds.
Summers-Newton beat a world-class field in the SM6 200m individual medley, including defending champion Ellie Simmonds, after finishing a heartbreaking second in the S5 200m freestyle final on Wednesday. Kearney, who had finished a heartbreaking second in the S5 200m freestyle final on Wednesday, bounced back brilliantly to win gold in the 100m freestyle.
In the last four, Gilliver gained vengeance on China’s Sun Gang, who defeated him in the Rio final, before defeating Russian Paralympic Committee athlete Maxim Shaburov 15-9 in the finale.
Jody Cundy (C4-5 1000m time trial), tandem pair Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott (B 1000m time trial), and para-equestrian rider Sophie Wells all won silver medals (grade V individual test). Dimitri Coutya, a wheelchair fencer, won bronze in the men’s epee B event.
Pearson’s ’emotional’ domination continues.
In 2017, Lee Pearson was knighted.
Pearson has been a fixture of the British squad since his international debut in 1999, surpassing Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and former swimmer Dave Roberts to reach third place on the British all-time list.
He was born with arthrogryposis, a disease in which the muscles in his limbs and legs developed as scar tissue in the womb.
The 47-year-old was clearly touched by his performance, which earned him 76.265 percent, compared to 73.441 for Austrian opponent Pepo Puch and 72.765 for Wilson, who was making her debut.
“I’m definitely more emotional than the first,” he told Channel 4. “I’m not sure I’ve ever wept right after saluting at the conclusion of an exam before.”
“I first saw Breezer when he was a day-old in my parents’ pasture, and now to be here with him as a home-bred and win a gold medal – it’s fairy-tale stuff.”
“He’s a high-bred horse, and he was tight and tangled up because he knew it was a big day.” He didn’t disappoint me, but he stuck with me, and I’m really proud of him.
“The judges now adore him, and I want to continue advancing him through the stages with able-bodied as well. I consider myself very fortunate to have horses in my life. They offer me their legs; in real life, I’m terrible at dancing, but we can dance here.”
In the S6 200m medley, Maisie Summers-Newton is currently the world and Paralympic champion.
Kearney and Summers-Newton make the most of their opportunities.
In the pool, Kearney showed great desire to rebound from her setback in the 200m, when she was overtaken by China’s Zhang Li in the final 10 meters.
The 25-year-old, who won in 1:04.39 seconds, overcame a number of health problems, including a chronic shoulder condition, and credited team physio Ritchie Barber with bringing her to the starting line.
“I mentioned yesterday that because of the injury, my fitness wasn’t where I wanted it to be,” she said.
“I felt awful in the warm-up today, and I felt much worse throughout the heats.” I was still recovering from yesterday’s swim and a painful shoulder, so I didn’t anticipate to be able to swim so fast.
“Nineteen days ago, my shoulder was growing worse with each practice, and I couldn’t swim because it was too uncomfortable.”
“I didn’t believe I’d make it out here, so the fact that I did and then went on to win is incredible. Ritchie has put in a lot of time and effort into getting me ready and getting my shoulder to the point where I can compete.”
Summers-Newton added Paralympic gold to the world championship she won in London in 2019. She was motivated to start swimming after seeing Simmonds win in 2012.
The 19-year-old was fourth at the halfway point, but her powerful breaststroke leg propelled her into first position with 50 meters to go, and she held off Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko to win in two minutes 56.68 seconds, a new world record. Simmonds came in sixth place.
Summers-Newton told Channel 4: “I knew how much I wanted it and I put all into it.”
“When I realized how close they were, all I could think was, “Put your head down and go for it.” I can’t believe I’ve figured it out.”
Van Gass is looking forward to his Paralympic debut.
On Friday, Jaco van Gass (right) will compete in the C1-3 1000m time trial.
born in South Africa When Van Gass was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, he suffered a collapsed lung and other internal injuries, as well as shrapnel wounds and leg injuries, and he lost his left arm at the elbow.
Since then, he’s run several marathons, climbed mountains, and become a downhill skier, as part of a record-breaking team of wounded soldiers who trekked to the North Pole, with Prince Harry joining them for part of the journey. He’s also won gold at the Invictus Games, won gold at the Invictus Games, and won gold at the Invictus Games.
Van Gass stated that winning gold at the Paralympics was a dream come true.
He remarked, “At this point in time, this is the greatest thing I’ve done.” “I’ve done some incredible things, but they all have their challenges, and today was particularly challenging.”
“It’s such a relief to finally be here representing Great Britain and winning the championship.”
“I’m very pleased with myself. We must savor this moment, but in a few hours, I must reset, forget about everything, and return tomorrow. We still have a few more races to compete in.”
Cundy established a Paralympic record in his C4 class, but he could only watch as Alfonso Caballo Llamas of Spain won gold by setting a new world mark in the C5 class.
The 42-year-old, who used to be a swimmer before switching to cycling, is the first British man to win a medal at seven different Olympic Games.
McGlynn and Scott, silver medalists at London 2012, had just been training together for 12 weeks.
“It’s incredible to do the time we did, which was a 2.5-second team personal best,” McGlynn said. “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
On the second day, somewhere
The United Kingdom has advanced to the semi-finals of the wheelchair rugby tournament after defeating New Zealand 60-37. They will face the United States on Friday (09:30 BST) to determine who would finish first in the pool.
The men’s wheelchair basketball team got off to a good start with a 70-43 triumph against Algeria, while the women’s team lost for the second game in a row, falling 54-48 to Japan.
Zoe Newson, a powerlifter, finished fourth in the -41kg category, missing out on a medal for the third time in a row.
With a 3-0 victory against Chalermpong Punpoo of Thailand in table tennis, reigning champion Will Bayley made it two wins out of two in class 7 to qualify for the quarter-finals. Jack Hunter-Spivey (class 5) and Joshua Stacey (class 9) are also in the final eight of their respective competitions, while Aaron McKibbin, Billy Shilton, and Ross Wilson are in the last 16 of the men’s class 8 singles.
Ellen Keane earned Ireland’s first gold medal of the Games as she beat off nine-time Paralympic champion Sophie Pascoe of New Zealand in the SB8 100m breaststroke final on a hectic day of swimming action.
Anastasia Pagonis, an American girl who has become a social media sensation due to her Tik Tok videos debunking stereotypes about blindness, established a new world record in the S11 400m freestyle on her route to gold.
Hosts When Takayuki Suzuki won the S4 100m freestyle, Japan earned their first gold medal of the Games. His victory has a strong British connection: the 34-year-old has been training with coach Louise Graham at Northumbria University since 2015.
Syria-born swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein, the first member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to compete in Tokyo, was disqualified in the SB8 100m breaststroke heats.
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- paralympics 2021
- paralympic games
- paralympian
