GB clinch three golds in last day of track cycling

Great Britain won 5 medals, including 3 golds, connected the last time of way cycling astatine the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

The mixed squad sprint, featuring the trio of Kadeena Cox, Jaco van Gass and Jody Cundy, qualified quickest for the last earlier thrashing Spain successful the medal race.

Earlier, James Ball bushed team-mate Neil Fachie to golden successful the men's B 1000m clip trial, with Ball having finished 2nd to the Scot successful Tokyo 3 years ago.

Then successful the women's B 3000m pursuit, Sophie Unwin and aviator Jenny Holl took golden aft beating Irish brace Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal successful the final, having already acceptable a caller satellite grounds successful qualifying.

Unwin and Holl produced a stellar display, having trailed the Irish duo by much than a 2nd aft 2,000 metres - lone to tempest the last kilometre and triumph by implicit 2 seconds.

"We knew they were going to beryllium [ahead of us]," said Holl aft winning gold. "In the qualifying they were up of america until 2,000m, but we knew we person got that fitness."

Their golden came aft Lora Fachie and aviator Corrine Hall defeated team-mates Lizzi Jordan and her usher Dannielle Khan successful the bronze-medal race, arsenic GB enjoyed different hefty medal haul connected time 4 successful the velodrome.

Their 3 golds arrived successful the abstraction of 75 minutes connected Sunday afternoon, and took GB apical of the way cycling medal array with 5 golds and 14 successful total.

Having triumphed astatine the erstwhile Games successful Tokyo, the mixed squad sprint trio of Cox, Van Gass and Cundy retained their rubric successful benignant successful Paris.

A flawless showing meant they bushed Spain by 1.8 seconds, arsenic Australia defeated hosts France for bronze.

For each British rider, this golden meant a differing extremity was achieved aft contrasting Paralympic experiences to this constituent successful the French capital.

Cox had missed retired connected the archetypal golden of the Games when she crashed connected the archetypal corner of the C4-5 500m clip proceedings connected Thursday, having made a atrocious start, past slipping portion trying to close herself.

The 33-year-old struggled with a calf injury, an eating upset and a relapse successful her aggregate sclerosis successful the build-up to this event, but overcame each that - positive her Thursday mishap - to assertion a 5th Paralympic gold.

Cox admitted she had struggled severely with her intelligence wellness aft the incidental and was astir crying earlier going to the commencement line, but was helped done it by her sprint team-mates.

"I was trying not to teardrop up earlier I was connected the commencement enactment due to the fact that I was scared," she said. "I didn't privation to fto myself down, it was conscionable the fearfulness of having different wobble.

"I person them successful grooming each the time, doing 1 successful grooming is thing you bash not privation to do. Being capable to flooded that and spell amended successful the final, I'll springiness myself a pat connected the back.

"These guys person been large cheerleaders, they person fixed maine specified encouragement, it's large to person team-mates perpetually checking connected you, giving you encouragement, reminding you that you are capable. We're a large squad successful general, I wouldn't person adjacent got connected way if it weren't for these two."

Cundy added: "I conscionable told her, you've done this hundreds of times, conscionable thrust it, Jaco and maine volition beryllium beside you. Get distant from america and we volition pursuit you down."

The 45-year-old Cundy has present won a medal successful each Games helium has participated successful - going backmost to 1996 successful Atlanta - and is present a 13-time Paralympic medallist, having besides starred successful swimming earlier switching to cycling.

"I inactive emotion the sport, americium susceptible of being astatine the apical extremity and doing the grooming I request to," helium said. "For now, being stood connected the podium is similar thing other and it brings maine backmost each time.

"In November it volition beryllium 30 years representing GB and I inactive privation to support going. We'll instrumentality it twelvemonth by year."

Meanwhile, Van Gass, 38, claimed his 2nd golden successful Paris aft helium retained the men’s C3 3000m idiosyncratic pursuit connected Friday - just a week aft being deed by a car connected a grooming thrust which enactment his information successful doubt.

Fachie was Paralympic champion astatine Tokyo 2020 and is the reigning satellite champion and grounds holder, but helium and usher Matthew Rotherham were not overly awesome successful qualifying and lone 4th fastest.

They needed large betterment successful the last and were intelligibly pumped up to bash truthful - Rotherham shouting and slapping his thighs arsenic helium entered the way - and they produced a overmuch quicker tally successful the last of 59.312 seconds.

But they were overhauled by Ball and his aviator Steffan Lloyd, who started slower successful the finaland trailed their team-mates by fractional a 2nd aft 125m, but gradually reeled successful Fachie and Rotherham with a clip of 58.964s.

And erstwhile German brace Thomas Ulbricht and Robert Foerstemann - who had qualified quickest - could lone travel 3rd successful the final, it sealed a British one-two.

"It's unbelievable," said Welshman Ball, 33. "Waiting for your crook to spell up, we knew we'd person to travel thing large from Matt and Neil, that's however it's ever gone.

"Our concern has had clip to gel, we person been trying to lucifer them successful the archetypal 500m, that's what we didn't person [before]. We person been moving for this a agelong clip and it has paid disconnected today."

Unwin and Holl followed Ball's golden by confirming their ascension to the apical of their discipline, having besides go satellite champions successful 2023.

Lora Fachie was aiming for her 3rd successive Paralympic title, but was comprehensively overhauled by Unwin, who besides bushed her satellite grounds successful qualifying by astir 2 seconds.

"This was the lawsuit we wanted, we acceptable retired the extremity aft the World Championships past year," said Unwin, 30.

"We said pursuit is what we want. We tried thing wholly caller coming into this, we weren't definite it was going to enactment retired for us. It's conscionable incredible."

Holl, 24, added: "It feels truthful good, this is the 1 we person worked 3 years for, what it is each about.

"Every grooming session, each meeting, it is for Paris, astir Paris, and we are truthful gladsome we could propulsion it disconnected connected the day.

"I burst into tears arsenic I ran up to my parents. It matters truthful overmuch to person truthful galore household and friends here."