Paris 2024 Paralympics day five: GB triathlon golds; swimming, tennis and more – live
Important events
ParalympicsGB has no concerns about the treatment of horses in the British camp ahead of the equestrian competition in Paris, following the whip scandal that plagued the Olympic Games.
The dressage competitions begin on Tuesday at the Chateau de Versailles, with British riders Natasha Baker, Mari Durward-Akhurst and Georgia Wilson among those in action.
Equestrian sport was in disarray during the Olympic Games after three-time gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin was suspended on the eve of the Games after video emerged of her repeatedly hitting a horse.
Although ParalympicsGB chief executive Penny Briscoe has not explicitly asked whether whipping occurs in British Paralympic equestrian sport, she believes the set-up is “really positive and well organised”.
“It was a very difficult situation for the sport, but also for TeamGB,” Briscoe said of the Dujardin incident, which was recorded several years ago but made public in July.
“As chef de mission I have no reservations or concerns because I have worked with Para equestrian, this is my sixth summer cycle and I have always found the environment incredibly supportive. “Have I asked the question: have you hit any horses? No, I haven’t. But I know the athletes are in a good position and I think we focus on them and their performance, not on what has happened in TeamGB.
“I think it was a credit to TeamGB that they were able to recover from that. The sport, it has to go and you have to look at that, right? But from my perspective we’ve always found the Para-equestrian environment to be very positive and well run.”
Dave Ellis said after his win: “It’s absolutely surreal. Tokyo was the opposite, but I’m so happy I had a great race today. You only get a few chances in your career to compete in the Paralympics – you get a lot more nervous and have to do it on the day, so it’s so special to do it.
“The (organisers) have brought it forward and all the races are being run today, but we’ve done a lot of heat work and got through the race. It’s going to take a while for it to sink in. I thought back to Tokyo yesterday – this is a much happier feeling.”
Ellis and guide Pollard win gold in men’s PTVI triathlon, Richter wins gold in women’s PTS4
Paralympics GB’s Dave Ellis and his guide Luke Pollard won the men’s PTVI triathlon, while Megan Richter won gold in the women’s PTS4 and Hannah Moore took bronze.
Preamble
Welcome! It’s day five in Paris. After a golden 24 hours for British athletes, we’re faced with another action-packed programme in the French capital.
Today’s Paralympic Games daily briefing provides a comprehensive overview of what’s happening.
Coombs’ leading role in badminton After the Games are over, the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in northern Paris will become a cultural hub serving the local community, with concerts, shows and – less excitingly – “various conferences”. Before Shakespeare or PowerPoint presentations have a chance to echo around the 8,000-seat space, it will play host to the fast-paced poker poker of shuttlecocks and today is the final day in badminton. Dan Bethell is looking to go one step further than his silver medal in the SL3 para-badminton singles in Tokyo. Bethell lost to India’s Pramad Bhagat in a thrilling final in 2021. Bhagat, the world number one, is not competing in Paris after receiving an 18-month ban for three whereabouts violations in 12 months. Another Indian, Kumar Nitesh, is Bethell’s final opponent at lunch. In the evening session, Krysten Coombs will go for SH6 gold against home hope Charles Noakes. Coombs took bronze in Tokyo. Off the court, the 33-year-old has worked at Ikea and also as an actor, appearing in an episode of Game of Thrones, The Witcher and several pantomimes.
Robinson ready to take on Australia ParalympicsGB’s wheelchair rugby team won a historic gold in Tokyo in 2021, scoring 14 tries in a 54-49 win over the USA. The sport was known in its early days as ‘Murderball’ and is still known for “noisy contact, frequent punctures and even overturned wheelchairs”. The Americans gained revenge in Sunday’s semi-final, leaving the British team to bid to repeat their group stage victory over world champions Australia and claim bronze. Robinson, 42, a former soldier, is ParalympicsGB’s vice-captain in Paris and has a remarkable background. He only took up the sport – which combines elements of rugby, handball and basketball and is played with a round rather than oval ball – as part of his rehabilitation after losing both legs when his patrol vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device near Camp Bastion in 2013, during what was his fourth tour of Afghanistan.
Peacock aims for 100m hat-trick “Can you handle it? Can you handle everyone watching you? Can you handle a stadium full of people screaming and then do the work that matters?” Paralympics GB’s Jonnie Peacock is attempting to make it a hat-trick of T64 100m gold medals. After sharing the bronze medal in a photo-finish in Tokyo, Peacock’s wildly optimistic statements ahead of these Games suggest he knows he will have to run the race of his life in Saint-Denis to beat reigning champion and world number one, Italy’s Maxcel Amo Manu. “This is the big one and this is the pressure cooker. I’m not the hunted any more, I’m the hunter,” Peacock continued. “Once you’ve got gold, you’re not looking for silver.” He came through his heat on Sunday successfully, but only in third place, which shows how much he has to do to claim a medal of any colour.