Triathlete Dave Ellis opened Great Britain’s medal account on day five of the Paralympics, taking gold in the men’s PTVI event in Paris.
It did not take long for Megan Richter and Hannah Moore to add gold and bronze respectively in the women’s PTS4 event as crowds flocked to the banks of the Seine, with 11 triathlon events taking place on one day.
Tokyo 2020 medallists Claire Cashmore and Lauren Steadman won silver and bronze respectively in the women’s PTS5 event, while Dan Bethell took badminton silver in the SL3 singles, losing a tight match to India’s Kumar Nitesh.
Ellis and Richter took GB’s gold tally to 25 and their overall medal count to 48 – second only to China (78 medals, including 37 golds), who have topped the table at the past five Games.
Ellis takes gold for GB
Ellis and guide Luke Pollard made up for heartbreak in Tokyo by winning gold in the men’s PTVI event.
They went in as favourites three years ago but suffered a mechanical failure on the bike leg which ended their race.
There were no such issues in the French capital, with Ellis and Pollard putting in a dominant final run leg to move up from third and finish in a time of 58 minutes 41 seconds.
Paralympic debutant Richter swiftly followed with victory in the women’s PTS4 competition, finishing in one hour 14 minutes 30 seconds.
Alison Peasgood took fourth in the women’s PTVI alongside guide Brooke Gillies, having returned to the sport after the birth of her son Logan last August.
Steadman and Cashmore go head to head
There were some familiar faces at the front of the women’s PTS5 event, with all three Tokyo medallists returning to the podium.
Three years ago it was GB’s Steadman who took the title, finishing ahead of team-mate Cashmore, who took bronze, and American Grace Norman.
This time it was Norman who triumphed, coming ahead of Cashmore and Steadman.
The trio share a strong bond – Steadman and Claire Cashmore were schoolmates in Devon, while the Tokyo gold medallist was Norman’s bridesmaid when she got married.
It has been a tough few years for Steadman, who has suffered with long Covid and returned to triathlon after a spell in winter sports, but she now has a second Paralympic medal.
Cashmore’s haul now stands at 10, with a podium place at every Games since Athens 2004.
Badminton silver for Bethell
Bethell was edged out for gold in the men’s SL3 singles.
Having lost the first game 21-14, Bethell fought back to level the tie, taking the second game 21-18.
The two athletes went right down to the wire, reaching 21-21, but Nitesh won successive points to close out the match.
It will fall on Krysten Coombs to try and bring home a first GB gold in the sport when he face Charles Noakes of France in the men’s SH6 singles final at about 21:00 BST on Monday.
Can Peacock bounce back?
At the Stade de France British attention focuses on Jonnie Peacock, who will be attempting to win his third Paralympic gold in the men’s T64 100m final at 18:50.
Peacock finished on top of the podium in London and Rio, but finished with a bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago.
Meanwhile, six-time gold medallist David Weir will be in action in the first round of the men’s T54 1500m (20:25).
In the morning session, Tunisia’s Walid Ktila failed to win a fourth consecutive men’s T34 sprint title, finishing second to Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana.
In the first round of the women’s T12 400m, Italy’s Valentina Petrillo, the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympics, qualified from her heat after finishing second with a time of 58.35 seconds.
Petrillo, won bronze in the World Championships last year, will race in the semi-finals at 19:43.
Two of the three GB competitors qualified for the final of the women’s T54 1500m – Melanie Woods and Samantha Kinghorn both set qualifying times, but Eden Rainbow-Cooper, whose medal hopes were ended by a collision in the 5,000m final, missed out with a seventh-place finish in her heat.
Ellie Challis was Britain’s youngest medallist at the Tokyo Games when she won silver in the S3 50m backstroke at the age of 17.
She will hope to go one better in Paris (17:05) after winning Monday morning’s heat in 53.86.
Louise Fiddes is also in with a chance of winning a medal in the women’s SB14 100m breaststroke final (17:20), after she finished second in her heat in 1:17.46.
Team-mate Olivia Newman-Baronius will join her, claiming the final qualification spot with a fourth-place finish in her heat, while Harry Stewart will race in the men’s SB14 100m final after finishing third in his morning race.
