Golden Day For Great Britain With Two More Golds And A World Record

Day four of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games saw two events for athletes with intellectual impairment making their way to the Swimming and Athletics venue and Great Britain topped in both events, bringing a golden day for them.

ATH: World Record for Sabrina Fortune

In the F20 Women’s Shot-put, Sabrina Fortune of Great Britain delivered a stunning performance with a throw of 15.12m, breaking her own World Record set at Kobe 2024. This remarkable achievement turned her Rio 2016 bronze into a well-deserved gold. Sabrina dominated the event from her very first attempt and maintained her lead throughout the competition.

Reflecting on her record-breaking throw, Sabrina said, “When I hit the World Record, I just wanted to jump up and down and celebrate, but then I remembered I had five more throws left and couldn’t do it yet.” I

Initially thinking she had thrown 14m, she was thrilled to be proven wrong when the result came up. “My coach wanted 15, so I hit a 15. I hope he’s happy now.”

Sabrina also shared the emotional significance of her journey: “Ever since I was a little girl, I didn’t expect my learning disability would allow me to compete on the world stage. It’s a crazy experience, and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved.”

She described the stadium atmosphere as “magical” and “deafening,” admitting that she was initially scared but ultimately found the experience unforgettable. “Being able to do that clap at the end and getting everyone to join in was amazing.”

She dedicated her gold medal to her parents, who have supported her throughout her career: “They have been there all my life, pushing me to grow as an athlete and a person. I wasn’t able to speak until I was five or six, so this is crazy—to be able to speak to you and share this.”

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Meanwhile, French favourite Gloria Agblemagnon won her first Paralympic medal, a silver, overtaking Ecuador’s Poleth Mendes. Although Poleth led with a 14.31m throw from her first attempt, Gloria surpassed her with a 14.43m throw in the fourth round.

Expressing her joy, Gloria said, “I couldn’t be happier. I was really focused and told myself I was home, I’m strong, and I just needed to have a good first throw. The home crowd was incredible” I’m sending a message to those who do not believe in me. I heard a lot of people saying that there wouldn’t be any French woman on the podium, and this way I can send a good message.”

SWI: Podium repeated from Tokyo 2020 for S14 Mixed relay

In Swimming, the most thrilling race among all the events, the 4x100m Freestyle Mixed Relay was underway.

The exciting mixed 4x100m freestyle relay S14 ended the fourth day of swimming competitions at the Paris La Defense Arena. The British team secured the gold medal with 03:43:05, winning the event for the second time.

In the morning, there weren’t heats because only five countries had participated in this race: Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Hong Kong and Japan.

Although Brazil was leading the race until the first 200m, the Britain team formed by William Ellard, Rhys Darbey, Poppy Maskill, and Olivia Newman-Baronius, in that order, only took the lead in the 200m, with Darbey. 

The GB Paralympic swimming team shared their excitement after a series of strong performances. Will reflected on his race strategy, saying, “I came back and got exactly the same world record from yesterday.” Rhys emphasized the importance of teamwork, noting, “I was definitely trying to make as much room as I could for Poppy…I think we did a pretty good job.”

Poppy acknowledged the added pressure of competing in a relay, stating, “If you let yourself down, then you let yourself down, but if you let everyone down here, then you let more people down.” Olivia expressed her joy at seeing the team’s success, adding, “It felt really nice when I saw the one next to our name.”

The young team, with an average age of 18-19, is already looking ahead to LA2028, with Rhys saying, “I’ve got my 200 IM later this week, so just that being the first race and getting out of the way is quite a relief.” Will summed up their mindset, “Just recover…it’s all basically a mental game.”

The podium was identical to that of the Japanese capital three years ago with Australia in second (03:46:37sec) and Brazil in third (03:47:49) Americas Record.

Jack Ireland, Maddie McTernan, Ruby Storm and Benjamin Hance swam for the Australian team. Benjamin Hance was the last to swim for the Australian team. He finished in fourth place and overtook the Hong Kong and Brazilian teams to finish the race in second place.

Ben recounted how he had to step up against strong competition, saying, “There were a bunch of boys, and I thought, ‘Oh, here we go, this might be fun.”

Despite seeing competitors 25 to 30 meters ahead, Ben pushed hard and made an incredible comeback. Reflecting on his performance, he said, “I really want to know what my split was because if I went 50-point, that would be sick.” His determination and mindset helped him overcome the challenge, and he left the race with a strong finish and a sense of accomplishment.

Brazil had Arthur Xavier, who is new to major events, and the experienced Gabriel Bandeira, Beatriz Carneiro and Ana Karolina Soares.

“It was completely different from Tokyo, where we didn’t have any public. I’m very happy with this team. Paris was really different. We weren’t afraid of the public screams, We felt stronger and went for it,” said Ana Karolina, who finished the relay for Brazil.

“I’m very happy. It’s my first time at the Paralympic Games and my first time in a relay too.  I gave it my all and was the first to go. I’ve been training a lot and I managed to lower my times“, said Arthur Xavier, 17 years old.

This Monday, it will be the turn of the 100m breaststroke SB14, which will have heats and finals, along with Round 1 for T20 Women’s 400m. 

Round of 16 matches for Class 11 Men’s and Women’s in table tennis will also kick-off from tomorrow.