Hannah Cockroft wins her ninth Paralympic Gold! Days 8-10 at the Paralympic Games
This weekend saw the final few days of the Paralympic Games and what a way to end. A second silver medal for ParalympicsGB in the universal relay, Hannah Cockroft won her ninth Paralympic Gold, with Didi Okoh winning bronze in a dramatic T63 100m final on the penultimate day.
Whilst Isaac Towers and Zac Skinner unfortunately missed out on the podium. The final day saw the men's and women's Paralympic marathon, where we saw David Weir's final race for ParalympicsGB.
Let's take a look at the final couple days of Paralympic action.
Day eight
In the morning session, Paralympic debutants were looking to make their mark on the Games. Marcus Perrineau-Daley (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy) got off to a flying start in the men's T52 100m to secure a silver medal behind Belgian Maxime Carabin. Scottish athlete Ben Sandilands (Steve Doig, Fife) stormed to victory in the men's T20 1500m, setting a new world record time of 3:45.40.
The universal relay quartet of Zac Shaw (Leon Baptiste, Cleethorpes), Jonnie Peacock (Dan Pfaff, Charnwood), Ali Smith (Benke Blomkvist, Guildford & Godalming and Sammi Kinghorn (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) won silver on the penultimate night of athletics action at Stade de France. With a new European record of 46.61s in the heats, they went on to beat this significantly to 46.01s in the final. Zac Shaw spoke after their success;
"The reason we have done so well over the years is the consistency. We take risks but they are calculated. From the heat to the final, we knew we had half a second to take then. 70,000 people were in there tonight and invested in Paralympic sport. With or without a medal, that feels like a win right now."
Following a great performance in the relay quartet, Ali Smith, ran in the T38 400m heats. She ran a new PB of 1:01.06 to secure a place in the final.
Day nine
The penultimate day of the Paralympics brought with it a lot of action and excitement. Hannah Cockroft (Paul Moseley, Leeds) took her ninth Paralympic title on the last night of athletics action in Paris. Finishing 7.66 seconds ahead of teammate, Kare Adenegan (Job King, Coventry) in the women's T34 800m final to take her second gold of the Games with a time of 1:55.44. Continuing her unbeaten record at the Paralympics.
"That is what we came for. It feels amazing, it feels like we have turned the clock back 12 years and we are back at London 2012 with that same kind of support. I tried to soak up as much of the atmosphere as I could out there. I feel like 12 years ago I took it for granted and I realise now that is not the sort of support Paralympians always get, so I want to take the moment, and enjoy it."
Kare Adenegan finished behind Cockroft in silver, with a time of 2:03.12. Winning her seventh Paralympic medal she said: "I feel so happy and blessed because that 800m was hard. My arms were dying big time, but I am really proud of that silver because I had to work for it." Fabienne Andre (Richard Chiassaro, Harlow) finished in fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium spot. She said; “Obviously it’s gutting not to get third but I tried my best and I did the best push I could. It’s a great experience for me and I know I have more to give when I’ve gone back and made a few changes. I’m excited to get back into training.”
In the final track event for ParalympicsGB, Didi Okoh (Joe McDonnell, Chelmsford) recorded her personal best of 14.59 seconds to come in third place after a dramatic collision in lanes six and seven. Despite the chaotic ending Okoh managed to make it onto the podium coming in bronze position, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of fourth place.
"Anything can happen in a race. The 100m is always full of surprises, this certainly had a lot. I am very happy, but I was sad for the other Italians, who were so close to the line and fell.
I am really proud of myself because I really wanted a PB. I thought I had a bad race, I got out well then nearly stumbled, and then rose up quickly. In the corner of my eyes, I saw them fall. I was sprinting to the line anyway, but I didn't think I'd got it. I thought they'd fallen after the finish line. I didn't know, so when my name came up on the screen, I was like 'wow'.".
Zak Skinner (Aston Moor, Birchfield Harriers) just missed out on a medal in the men's T13 long jump, finishing in fourth place. His best jump of 6.83m saw him unfortunately miss the podium.
"It sucks, I have been here before, I got the same result in Tokyo. It hurts, but I got beaten today, and that's fine. Those boys were better than me and I wasn't able to respond. I left everything out there, I did everything that was needed from me, but it wasn't enough"
Isaac Towers (Pete Wyman, Kirkby AC) was facing dizziness and injury as he went into the men's T34 800m final, claiming sixth. At his third Paralympic 800m final, Towers had a late surge to climb up to sixth place, his second-best finish at the Games.
"Given the week we have had, I will take it. Obviously, the competitor in me wants more. I have had a bit of shoulder trouble, headaches and dizziness, but it's all part of the game and we had to work through it. I'd like to thank the medical staff who have kept me going, they have been a great help to me. You can sit here and make predictions all day long, but you have got to go out there and do the best you can. I have made the best of what I have got today."
Day ten
The final day of the Paris Paralympics saw the men's and women's marathons taking place, the only event at the Paris Paralympic Games to take the Champs-Elysees in its entirety. ParalympicsGB saw representation in the men's and women's T54 marathon.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper (Arno Mul, Red Velvet Racing) unfortunately failed to finish in the women's T54 because of a back injury, withdrawing at 32km, as Switzerland won gold.
David Weir (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy) finished 5th in the men's T54 marathon, coming in over five minutes behind the gold medallist. Having now retired from competing for Great Britain, it was an emotional end for Weir but his career is one to be proud of.
"Tough race, tough conditions, I just wasn't up to speed at the beginning. It just went off so so quick. I couldn't keep up. I could seek Suzuki for a long time and then we caught Daniel (Romanchuk) and pulled away from Aaron Pike. I felt comfortable after that and me and Daniel worked together, and we tried to pull the gap, but then I couldn't see Suzuki anymore. Once we got on the Champs-Elysee, it just destroyed me to be honest, it just hurt my neck and back, and Daniel was able to pull away.
It was quite emotional at the end because this will be my last race for GB. I'll still do the major marathons, I still enjoy doing them, but it'll be my last international. I love training. My last two marathon results in the Spring were great. I have had a long season, set some quick times on the track too. And now I've got Berlin in two weeks! My body just couldn't cope with it today. It's an age thing, I was the oldest in the field. I am still highly competitive and still trying to beat Daniel who is half my age, I could be his Dad! I'm still doing alright. I gave it my all today."
With the marathons closing the athletics action for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, why not have a look back on all the action during this summer of sport!