Dame Sarah Storey has claimed her 15th Paralympic gold medal after retaining her C5 3000m title at the Izu Velodrome; the 43-year-old is on course to become Great Britain's most decorated Paralympian - if she wins her remaining two events; fellow Briton Crystal Lane-Wright takes silver
Thursday 26 August 2021 15:15, UK
Dame Sarah Storey has won ParalympicsGB's first gold medal of the Games after winning the C5 3000m individual pursuit title.
The 43-year-old won a 15th gold medal at the Izu Velodrome in dominant fashion, retaining the title she won in Rio five years ago.
Storey earlier broke the world record in qualifying to reach the final alongside fellow Briton Crystal Lane-Wright.
Reflecting on her medal success, Storey told Channel 4: "For me as an individual, I've won a medal at every single Games I've been to and this is my fourth time winning the individual pursuit in a row.
"I broke the world record in Beijing, in London, in Rio, this morning, so for me it's been quite overwhelming to try and keep backing that up and keep pushing on the pedals to go faster and faster.
"I never expected to go as quick as I did this morning but I'm so glad that I did."
Storey, who already lays claim to being the country's most successful female Paralympian, produced a strong display to catch compatriot Lane-Wright 1750m into her ride and win the event for a fourth successive Games.
She remains on track to become Great Britain's most decorated Paralympian of all time - a feat she will achieve if she wins gold in her remaining two events.
The C5 time trial and C4-5 road race are titles currently held by Storey, who is seeking to surpass swimmer Mike Kenny's all-time medal record.
Lane-Wright made sure ParalympicsGB were able to celebrate a British one-two finish by claiming silver for the second straight Games, in a repeat of the result from the last Paralympics in 2016.
Earlier, the 35-year-old had set a new personal best in qualifying, but she was unable to stop Storey from claiming victory inside eight laps.
In the bronze medal race, France's Marie Patouillet beat New Zealand's Nicole Murray.
