Neil and Lora Fachie led a stunning morning for Great Britain to kick off day four of the Tokyo Paralympics as the husband and wife cyclists each claimed Paralympic gold in world-record fashion.
Scottish rider Neil and pilot Matt Rotherham finished just ahead of compatriot James Ball in the men’s B 1000m time trial, taking top spot with a time of 58.038 seconds.
Liverpool-born Lora then followed in her husband’s footsteps as she and partner Corrine Hall defeated Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy in the final of the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit in a time of three minutes 19.560secs.
That was not the end for Great Britain’s gold rush at the Izu Velodrome as Kadeena Cox, Jaco Van Gass and Jody Cundy eclipsed China to win the mixed C1-5 team sprint.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT It’s a stunning, stunning victory in the mixed C1-5 team sprint Take a bow, @kad_c, @jacovangass and @jodycundy New World Record and a GOLD 🥇#ImpossibleToIgnore #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/eWETo2mt4p — ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) August 28, 2021
They crossed the line in 47.579secs, just over a tenth of a second ahead of the Chinese team, with Spain taking bronze.
In addition to the trio of GB golds and silver for Ball, there was also a bronze for Sophie Unwin, who clinched third place behind Lora Fachie and Dunlevy in a time of 3:23.446.
Elsewhere, table tennis player Paul Karabardak and powerlifter Micky Yule each won bronze.
Karabardak lost his class six semi-final to American Ian Seidenfeld 3-0 but still collected his first Paralympic medal at the fourth time of asking.
And Afghanistan veteran Yule managed 182kg on his final lift in the men’s -72 kg category.
Great Britain reached the wheelchair rugby final with a 55-49 victory over hosts Japan.
Picture of the day
Social media moment
Two #Gold medals.Two World Records.Two #Paralympics legends.@loraturnham and @neilfachie, the ultimate power couple 😍 #Tokyo2020 #ParaCycling @UCI_paracycling @BritishCycling pic.twitter.com/9yJdIxb89s
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 28, 2021
The sheer emotion of Neil and Lora Fachie celebrating their incredible achievement.
Figure of the day
What’s coming up?
Games veteran David Weir competes in the T54 5000m at 12.24pm UK time, while Sophie Hahn, Olivia Breen and Ali Smith run in the T38 100m final at 12.01pm.
In the pool, the mixed 4x100m S14 freestyle rounds off another busy day at 11.47am.
