GB wins medals of all colours in Paris on Day 1 of the Paralympics
A strong morning of qualification at the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines saw Great Britain secure a presence in three of the four afternoon finals, the first medal opportunities of the games.
It was a shaky start to the medal hopes with a DNF from favourite Kadeena Cox in the Women’s C4 5 500m time trial final, due to her suffering an exacerbation of her Multiple Sclerosis.
But success was around the corner in the individual pursuits as Daphne Schrager and Stephen Bate, with pilot Chris Latham, stepped up to gold medal races in the Women’s C1-3 3000m and Men’s B 4000m respectively.
Schrager qualified second, earning a new C2 World Record time of 3:45.133 on her Paralympic debut race, to face off with China’s Wang Xiamei for the title.
At holding camp for the Games, Schrager said of her chances “If I can ride the way we have in training, I think there’s a good chance of me coming away with a medal.
“Getting into a medal ride is a huge achievement in itself, and to take a medal home would be cracking. Whether it’s gold, silver or bronze I’m happy. It’s just about riding fast and executing the process.”
“I think morale will be high. The pit always goes crazy on race day so it’s really exciting.”
Morale and excitement were certainly high in the sweltering velodrome as the 23-year-old, two-time World Champion took to the track. Schrager as struggled to replicate her earlier speed, finishing the race almost six seconds down on qualifying with a time of 3:51.129.
China’s Xiamei dominated to win the gold and improve her C3 World Record by almost 3 seconds with a time of 3:41.692. For several laps she looked set to catch Daphne from behind, but the brit dug deep to hold her off and finish the race on the line.
Afterwards the cyclist from Malmsebury said “The second ride is always a challenge, and sometimes your condition just lets you down. It’s a massive privilege to get a medal at all.”
“I want to say a big thank you to my coach John, and my parents, because without them I wouldn’t be here. It’s a team medal, not just mine.”
Daphne was starstruck on the podium as her medal was awarded by Hollywood action star Jackie Chan: “I was like, oh my God you’re real. Also, I promised my Mum I wouldn’t cry on the podium and then I did, but it’s just one of those things.”
Reflecting on her 5-year rise in the sport, from “like Bambi on Ice” on a bike to World Record holder and Paralympic silver medallist, Daphne said
“The improvement that I’ve made on programme, I’m so lucky to be one of the people that has National Lottery Funding. Everyone at home that plays the lottery, you’ve helped someone like me achieve my childhood dream, so thank you very much.”
“We’ve still got the road to go and it’s going to be a real fight so I’m excited.”
Daphne will next contend in the Women’s C1-3 Road Cycling Time Trial and the Road Race on the 4th and 7th September respectively.
The final medal race of the day saw Stephen Bate, with pilot Chris Latham, battle for the gold but settle for silver in the Men’s B 4000m Individual Pursuit. Dutch duo Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos collected the gold after setting a new World and Paralympic Record of 3:55.396 in the qualification race.
Bate called the medal “a massive team effort. It’s disappointing to come away with the silver. We gave it everything, we had to try and beat the Dutch guys but once again, they’ve just proved how world class they are.”
“We rode a 56 so we went better than we thought we would. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t hit the top step for the staff team. We’re just the lucky guys who’re on the bike but it’s the staff behind us who’ve really driven this project.”
Scot Stephen Bate, with pilot Chris Latham, was ‘“super proud” of his silver in the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit.
It marked a 5th Paralympic medal for Bate at his third Games, after winning the gold for this event in Rio and silver in Tokyo. He considered retirement in 2022 but today said “It’s a privilege to come and race in front of a packed velodrome and race the best in the world. I’m super fortunate to be still doing this.”
Asked about the prospect of the 2028 Games in LA, Bate said “I haven’t made any decisions about that to be honest. I’ll get the two road event out the way, take some time off and see where we’re at. If this is my last event, it’s a hell of a way to go out with a silver medal on the podium.”
The first day of Paralympic action saw Britain’s first medals of the Games in track cycling followed by a bronze in the women’s table tennis doubles and golds in the pool.
by Lauren Lethbridge, ADJ Diploma Student