Swimmers Tully Kearney and Poppy Maskill win first golds of Paralympics for GB on opening day

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A resilient Tully Kearney said she was “absolutely ecstatic” to put a torrid past couple of years behind her – including a freak concussion – after winning gold in the women’s 200m freestyle S5 final. 
Kearney suffered the career-threatening head injury in November 2022 when the boot of her friend’s car accidentally closed in on her, leaving her with profound memory loss.
The 27-year-old no longer remembers the Paralympic title and freestyle silver medal she won at the Tokyo Games, while a complex case of post concussion syndrome caused a deterioration in her cerebral palsy. The S5 swimmer revealed her participation at these Games had been touch-and-go, such was the state of her mental and physical health. 
“It’s been a lot,” said Kearney. “It’s been really hard with the concussion and then the last three, four months, really hard with mental health issues. 
“To be able to get here just means a lot to me. Even a few weeks ago, we weren’t sure whether I was going to come out and compete or how many events I’d be able to do. I’m really grateful to the team for all the support they’ve given me in enabling me to come here and do this.”
When asked what had driven her to come to Paris to upgrade the silver she won in this event three years ago, Kearney said: “I wanted redemption.” 
Earlier, Poppy Maskill etched her name into the history books after winning Britain’s first gold at the Paralympics in the women’s 100m butterfly S14 final, setting a new record time of one minute and three seconds.
She said it felt “weird” to be crowned the first British Paralympic champion in Paris and hinted she would celebrate by treating herself to a golden pair of crocs when she returns home. 
Maskill, who competes in the S14 intellectually impaired classification, is a lover of the clunky shoe and once owned more than 20 pairs, but has not brought any of them to the French capital to comply with sponsorship rules. 
Meanwhile, Maskill’s teammate William Ellard was cruelly edged out of the gold medal position at the final stroke in the men’s 100m butterfly S14 final to claim silve
That concludes the opening day of action in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with GB’s swimmers enjoying success as Poppy Maskill and Tully Kearney claimed gold. 
It was a total of six medals for the Brits on Thursday with the cyclists claiming three silvers in the Velodrome while 14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard picked up bronze in the table-tennis. 
Earlier on in the Para-Archery, Nathan MacQueen qualified for tomorrow’s round of 16 in the men’s individual compound event after finishing sixth with a season’s best. 
After progressing, he said: “Relieved it’s finished. I was just so nervous which is a bit mad because I do this all the time. I’ve just been waiting around today so to get it over with is a relief, I can just go and sleep now.
“It’s the biggest crowd that any of us have shot in front of. It’s going to be pretty special. And to have the family out there is going to be pretty cool. I’m just going to go and do my best.”
Following her gold medal success in the women’s S5 200m freestyle, ParalympicsGB’s Tully Kearney told the BBC: “I am a bit speechless and I wanted redemption after Tokyo, I wanted gold.
“With everything that happened this year I didn’t know if it would be possible, I am really happy with that.
“I knew what my advantages were and I used them to my advantage – it obviously worked.”
On the atmosphere the La Defense Arena: “I have been competing internationally since I was 13 and I have never had a crowd this big – it really helped.
“I am grateful to everyone who helped me get here. We didn’t know if I would make it so I’m really happy.”
GOLD FOR TULLY KEARNEY The perfect race. The perfect upgrade from Tokyo.YIIIIIIRRRRRRRS!#ParalympicsGB 🥇 pic.twitter.com/rnXWZxeaTq
Tully Kearney has received her gold after winning the women’s S5 200m freestyle final. A proud moment for the swimmer after going so close in 2020 to mark the end of a successful day in the pool for the Brits. 
Great Britain’s Krysten Coombs has been beaten in his Para-badminton men’s singles SH6 group-stage match by Hong Kong’s Man Kai Chu.
The Brit forced things to a decider but lost the third 21-15 at La Chapelle Arena.
Bly Twomey was back in action just now with Joshua Stacey and the pair have beaten Poland’s Patryk Chojnowski and Katarzyna Marszal 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals. The Poles were ranked nine places higher than the Brits. 
That wonderful performance from Tully Kearney was GB’s second gold of the day after Poppy Maskill’s gold in the pool earlier on.
It was the sixth medal in total with the Brits winning three silvers in the velodrome and a bronze in the table-tennis through14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard. 
ParalympicsGB’s Tully Kearney has won gold in the women’s S5 200m freestyle final. 
The Brit was neck and neck with Poida of Ukraine but Kearney was tumble-turning while her rival was using her arms to turn and that was what made the difference going into the final length.
Boggioni of Italy made a great effort of getting close to the leaders as the race came to a close but didn’t quite reach and came in third. 
Tully Kearney is up next in the final swimming event of the evening in the women’s S5 200m freestyle final. 
In the S5 classification swimmers have a significant physical impairment in at least two limbs. 
Francesco Bocciardo of Italy sets a Paralympic record to defend his crown from Tokyo 2020 with a time of 2:25.99. 
Kirill Pulver comes in to clinch silver while Oleksander Komarov of Ukraine slipped to the bronze-medal spot. 
As mentioned though, it’s the men’s S5 200m freestyle final up first with no British representative. 
Komarov of Ukraine leads the field at the halfway mark. 
The final events in the pool are the S5 200m freestyle finals with the men’s race up first before GB’s Tully Kearney goes for gold and looks to go one better than the silver she won in Tokyo. 
The Brit is the world record holder in this event and her time of 2:49:40 in qualifying was the fastest of all eight of tonight’s finalists.
After winning ParalympicGB’s first medal of the Paris Games in the women’s 3000m C1-3 individual pursuit, Daphne Schrager received her medal from actor Jackie Chan.
Discussing that particular experience, she said: “He’s been in so many movies, I was just like, oh my god you’re real. I promised my mum I wouldn’t cry on the podium, then I did – one of those things.”
After her debut Games, she added: “My coach said to me, ‘four years time you will have that gold’, we’ve made that pact now.
“I didn’t think 3-minutes 45-seconds was possible today, hopefully I can continue that upward trajectory.”
On her training, she said: “The lonely hours spurred me on, and having a disability makes you more resilient. This is the proof.”
Carlotta Gilli of Italy wins the women’s 100m freestyle in the S13 classification. 
Grace Nuhfer of the USA took silver after pushing the Italian all the way. 
Muslima Odilova of Uzbekistan came home in third. 
After winning silver in the men’s S14 100m butterfly, ParalympicsGB’s William Ellard told Channel 4: “It is definitely hard here being at the Paralympics, going back to the village and trying to recover yourself as fast as possible and then coming back [to La Defense Arena].
“Those last 25m hurt a lot, it wasn’t like that this morning. I am ecstatic with the silver medal.
“I have about 30-35 people here. The crowd here is amazing and when you walk out it’s like nothing else.”
Ihar Boki wins his 17th Paralympic gold medal and his fourth gold in the S13 100m butterfly with a time of 54.13. 
Home favourite Alex Portal was roared on and pushed the great man until the end to claimed silver. Alhambra Mollar of Spain win’s bronze. 
Home favourite Alex Portal receives a rapturous reception as he comes out for the men’s 100m butterfly in the S13 classification. He is up against Ihar Boki who has 16 Paralympic gold medals to his name. 
Incredible resilience from @kad_c after her disappointing fall in C4-5 500m time trial, but she says she’s aiming to be back for her group event 💪 #C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/OWmbzj3oDV
Up next in the pool is the women’s S9-10 50m freestyle and it’s Chen Yi who takes gold with a world record time of 27.10. 
The Chinese swimmer led the entire race coming in ahead of Christie Raleigh-Crossley of the USA in second and Aurelie Rivard of Canada in the bronze-medal spot. 
GB’s Tully Kearney will be going for gold in the S5 200m freestyle and will be looking to go one better than the silver she won in Tokyo. 
Ahead of this, Ihar Boki will be looking to add to his 16 Paralympic gold medals as he takes part in the S13 100m butterfly – an event he has won in the previous three Games.
Poppy Maskill is receiving her gold medal for her world-record swim in the S14 100m butterfly as ‘God Save the King’ is played for the first time in the Paralympic Games so far. 
In Para-Archery, Nathan MacQueen has qualified for tomorrow’s round of 16 in the men’s individual compound event.
MacQueen has finished in sixth place with his season best score of 696 as he recorded 20 X’s and 49 10’s.
 
Great Britain’s Thomas Matthews and Megan Shackleton have been swept aside 3-0 by German pair Thomas Bruechle and Sandra Mikolaschek in their Para-table tennis XD7 round of 16 tie. 
The GB pair took just 15 points from the fifth seeds during the three games.
Steve Bate, who won a silver medal in the men’s B 4000m individual pursuit earlier today, has said: “If this is my last event, a hell of a way to go out.
“Everything has been geared towards this event, I haven’t thought much beyond that.
“I’ll get the two road events out the way, take some time off and see where we are at.”
Speaking after her gold in the women’s S14 100m butterfly, Poppy Maskill told the BBC: “It was so hard. I was just trying my hardest not to die. I was just trying to see how I could do compared to this morning.
“It’s weird, it’s really cool. It’s just unreal.”
Jiang Yuyan of China wins gold in the Women’s 50m freestyle S6 final with a Paralympic record. 
Ellie Marks of the US clinches silver while Anna Hontar takes home bronze. 
Attention returns to the pool for the men’s SB3 50m breaststroke final as Suzuki Takayuki of Japan takes gold after winning gold in Beijing 16 years ago! He clocked a time of 48.04. 
Efrem Morelli of Italy wins silver while Spain’s Miguel Luque takes home bronze. 
Up next is the Women’s 50m freestyle S6 final with Nicole Turner representing Ireland. For the S6 classification swimmers have a physical impairment that often means they have good function in at least two limbs and includes those with short stature. 
GB’s Claire Taggart has cruised through her Pool A match, beating Ecuador’s Joselyn Leon 10-1.
Meanwhile, Kayleigh Haggo has been defeated by South Korea’s Soyeong Jeong 3-1 in her Pool C match.
Elsewhere in the boccia, Claire Taggart is beating Joselyn Leon of Ecuador 7-0 after the second round while Kayleigh Haggo is level against South Korea’s Soyeong Jeong.
It’s bronze for 14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard who have been beaten 3-1 in their semi-final by China’s Huang Wenjuan and Jin Yucheng.
IT’S GOLD FOR POPPY MASKILLA new World Record and a massive PB! Our first gold medal of these games in the 100m butterfly S14. Yes, Poppy!#ParalympicsGB🥇 pic.twitter.com/IhA2gKKROb
Over to the table tennis and ParalympicsGB’s 14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard who are in their semi-final having already secured bronze.
The pair are 2-1 down in games in the best of five contest. The Brits are 4-2 up in the fourth. 
Poppy Maskill wins gold in the women’s S14 100m butterfly as she sets a world record of 1:03.00 to win ParalympicsGB their first gold medal of the Games. 
Chan Lui Lam came in second for Hong Kong while bronze went to neutral athlete Valeria Shabalina. 
Newman-Baronius came in fourth while Fiddes came in sixth for GB. 
A real chance for GB medals as Olivia Newman-Baronius, Poppy Maskill and Louise Fiddes are all involved in the S14 100m butterfly final. 
William Ellard has won silver in the men’s S14 100m butterfly.
Alexander Hillhouse of Denmark narrowly beat the 18-year-old Brit with a PR of 54.61. 
Ellard edged the lead at the halfway mark but lost out by a quarter of a second. 
Taking the bronze medal is Brazil’s Gabriel Bandeira, who was less than half a second behind Hillhouse.
It is the men up first in the finals of the S14 100m butterfly. For ParalympicsGB, 18-year-old William Ellard is going for gold while Cameron Vearncombe is also in action making his debut. 
The S14 classification is for athletes with intellectual impairment. 
Tonight’s gold medal events 🥇🍿#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Mct603oXtQ
ParalympicsGB’s 14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard have secured themselves a medal after making it into WD14 semi-finals which is set to get underway shortly.
Twomey said after the quarter-final win: “It felt amazing. The atmosphere and everyone supporting me. Just to play with Fliss is a massive achievement for me and I’m just really proud to be her doubles partner.
“I tried my best to block a bit of the noise out, but I just tell myself they’re cheering for me. I’m really proud to get a medal at my first Paralympic Games and it means a lot as I’m only 14.”
After finishing fifth in the women’s S9 400m freestyle, Toni Shaw told the BBC: “It obviously wasn’t the race I wanted, but I’ve had a super hard year being injured, so just to be here is really special, but I guess I was in a Paralympic final so I’ve got to be happy with that.
“When I finished my race, I saw some of my family in the crowd and without them I wouldn’t be here.
“So yes, it was super special seeing them and just all the support that they’ve given me and it means the world.”
“That’s sport”We love you, Kadeena. #ParalympicsGB ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ttulfWyUMb
A reminder that William Ellard and Olivia Newman-Baronius will be going for gold for ParalympicsGB in the S14 Butterfly finals at 17:35 and 17:42. 
Cameron Vearncombe, Poppy Maskill and Louise Fiddes are also involved for GB. 
ParalympicsGB’s Kadeena Cox, has spoken to Channel 4 following her fall in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit final. 
On how she is doing, she said: “Not great if I am honest. But, that’s sport.
“I went down on my knee which is sore. My MS [Multiple sclerosis] – my tone was bad and that doesn’t help when you try to ride a bicycle.
“It was a weird one. I didn’t feel comfortable in the gate, my right side is my weak side – I just over compensated and couldn’t balance on my weaker side, I was all over the shop. I thought I might have got a restart.”
On coming back from injury: “I got back on the bike two weeks ago. It has been a rubbish year, this time last year I couldn’t walk as I had a relapse which effected my right side – I guess that’s MS.
“The fact I got here is amazing. I wasn’t able to qualify for the athletics due to the injuries I suffered.
“The boys will count on me [in the mixed team sprint on Sunday] getting out there and delivering a quick lap.
“It has been a rough week and I have been struggling with my mental health. I’ll speak to my psych – I don’t want to let the boys down.”
Dos Santos Araujo has won the Men’s S2 100m backstroke final to clinch gold. The Brazilian world champion led from start to finish. 
Danilenko wins silver while Tokyo champion Abarza Diaz of Chile wins bronze. 
Up next in the pool is the Men’s S2 100m backstroke final. This will see the champion from Tokyo Arbarza Diaz from Chile take on the world champion dos Santos Araujo from Brazil. There are a range of starts used for the S2 class with some held by their feet by their coaches and others by their hands. 
At the archery, Jodie Grinham, who is seven months pregnant, shot a personal best 693 to rank fourth in the women’s compound while defending champion Phoebe Paterson Pine shot 688 and ranks seventh. 
Grinham, 31, from Cardigan, has joked about feeling contractions here. “It’s brilliant to get that score, I want to compete. I didn’t want this Games to just be about a pregnant woman taking part, I wanted to be competitive. It was just about getting me here, getting me competing and getting me home to see the midwife…” 
Grinham explained: “I’ve been looked after so well, they told me there was no point saying to rest because I’m here to compete. I feel really good, baby is perfectly healthy, I’m healthy and we’ve just got to make sure nothing progresses. I know I can do more, it’s a personal best but there’s lots of room for improvement. The key for me was finishing in that top four and that gives me a day off competition to focus on tweaking things and making myself better. 
“I’m pregnant, so what? If I worked in an office they’d be fine for me working there until I’m 39 weeks pregnant. So what’s the difference for me competing at the Paralympics? I want to be a mother and an athlete. I’m not willing to sacrifice either of them.”
Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Thomas Matthews and Megan Shackleton have won their round of 32 Para-table tennis XD7 match. The pair defeated Australia’s Jessy Chen and Daniela Di Toro 3-1.
Zsofia Konkoly of Hungary clinches gold in the final of the Women’s S9 400m freestyle after a neck-and-neck showdown with Lakeisha Patterson of Australia who has to settle for silver after establishing a healthy lead early on. 
Italy’s Bianco takes home bronze while GB’s Toni Shaw was out of the medal spots in fifth. 
Toni Shaw of ParalympicsGB is up next in the final of the Women’s S9 400m freestyle. 
The Brit is off to a solid start and is in fourth after the opening length. 
At the halfway mark the Brit has dropped to fifth but remains in touch of the bronze medal spot. 
Ugo Didier clinches gold in the Men’s S9 400m freestyle with a time of 4:12.55. 
World champion Simone Barlaam had led the entire race but was overtaken on the final length by the home favourite.
Brendan Hall of Australia takes bronze.
The Paralympic swimming events fall into different divisions.
‘S’ indicates freestyle, backstroke or butterfly. ‘SM’ is for the medley events. ‘SB’ is used for breaststroke races.
Numbers 1-10 indicate physical impairment with 1 for the most severe and 10 for those with minimum impairment. 
Numbers 11-13 are used for races with athletes that have visual impairment and 14 indicates intellectual impairment. 
 
Attention shifts from the velodrome to the Paris La Defense Arena for the start of the Paralympic swimming finals with all eyes on William Ellard and Olivia Newman-Baronius for GB. 
They are in the S14 Butterfly finals at 17:35 and 17:42. Up first though is the Men’s S9 400m freestyle.
Following his final loss, Steve Bate said: “I’m probably more disappointed for the staff that we couldn’t deliver that gold medal.”
He joked: “Three finals, three medals – you can’t argue with that.”
Steve Bate and his pilot Chris Latham have bean defeated in the final of the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit but will take home silver. 
It was quite comfortable in the end for the Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma and his pilot Patrick Bos who clocked a time of 3:55.439 while the Brits came in just over two seconds later with a time of 3:57.652. 
That is ParalympicsGB’s second medal of the Paris Games so far after Daphne Schrager’s silver earlier on. 
 
With just 1000m to go the Brits are trailing by 2.5 seconds. All to do for Bate.
After the first 1000m the Dutch are 0.8 seconds ahead. This extends to almost 1.5 seconds at the halfway mark. Work needed by the Brits. 
The riders are underway. The Netherlands were a second quicker in qualifying but it is all on this final performance for the gold. 
It is 4000m meaning 16 laps for the riders. The Dutch establish an early lead. 
We are just five minutes away from seeing Steve Bate and his pilot Chris Latham in the final of the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit. 
Could this be the first gold of the Games for ParalympicsGB? In the way is the Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma and his pilot Patrick Bos who denied Bate the gold in 2020. 
Bate was diagnosed with a rare eye disorder in 2011 and has now lost most of his vision.
Former Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp was seen supporting GB’s badminton duo Dan Bethell and Rachel Choong earlier today. 
Having a normal one.Jürgen Klopp was cheering on Dan Bethell and Rachel Choong this morning at the badminton. #ParalympicsGB #Paris2024 #YNWA pic.twitter.com/25oue3uUY7
The ‘B’ in the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit event indicates the athlete rides on a tandem bike with a pilot due to being visually impaired. 
Bate will be riding with pilot Chris Latham after winning gold in Rio and a silver in Tokyo with Adam Duggleby. 
ParalympicsGB’s Stephen Bate, with guide Christopher Latham, will be going for gold in the final event of the day inside the velodrome in the Men’s B 4000m individual pursuit.
They will be taking on the Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma and his pilot Patrick Bos just before 16:15 BST.
It’s a fantastic silver for Daphne SchragerParalympicsGB’s first medal of Paris 2024 in the individual pursuit!#ParalympicsGB pic.twitter.com/4FYNGs8HEu
Wang Xiaomei beats the world record she set earlier today to win gold in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit final with a time 3:41.692. 
She was almost ten seconds ahead of ParalympicsGB’s Daphne Schrager who clocked a time of 3:51.129 as she takes home silver to win GB’s first medal of the Games. 
That was comfortable in the end for the Chinese 24-year-old athlete who won silver in Tokyo but nevertheless a great moment for the 22-year-old Brit on her Paralympic debut. 
At the 2000m mark Wang is over six seconds ahead. There is surely no way back for the Brit.
Wang has established a lead of over two seconds in the opening two laps. 
Daphne Schrager is ready for the Women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit final. There was less than half a second between the Brit and Wang of China in qualifying. 
The Paralympic debutant has cerebral palsy and is a world champion in the C2 division. 
Kadeena Cox, who had MS, is inconsolable. She was going for gold on day one in the time trial but she crashed on the first turn as she was trying to create speed. Officials have refused her a restart, saying that only mechanical issues are allowed for a second go #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/y2dZujXuQd
Cox was still being spoken to by two Para Cycling staff twenty minutes after the final and was sitting on the ground inconsolable. 
Eventually, Cox took to her wheelchair and was pushed out of the concourse, her hands over her face. Too distraught to speak to anyone at present. There is still the chance of her winning a team gold.
Daphne Schrager will be in action next for ParalympicsGB in the velodrome in the Women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit final at around 15:40 BST.
The men’s C1 3000m Individual Pursuit final is underway with Li and Liang of China taking each other on. 
Li Zhangyu catches his team-mate with more than 1000m to take home the gold.
What a disaster for Kadeena Cox who lost balance at the start of the women’s C4-5 500m time trial with the judges not allowing a restart in the event, with no mechanical issue noted. 
The Velodrome, filled largely by French spectators have given the GB athlete a standing ovation as she was unstrapped from the bike and supported back to GB team base in the centre concourse. 
It will have been no consolation for the multi sport medallist from previous Games, who was defending her title in this event. The 33-year-old had suffered a torn calf muscle, achilles trouble and a relapse of her multiple sclerosis coming into the Games. 
Caroline Groot of The Netherlands took gold. Two rides before Cox, the partisan French supporters roared compatriot Marie Patouillet into a guaranteed medal position. The Frenchwoman finished second.
Kadeena Cox can be seen sat in tears after her failed attempt. The judges deemed the incident to not be a mechanical error and it is heartbreak for the Brit who many thought was virtually guaranteed a medal. 
Caroline Groot of the Netherlands wins gold in this women’s C4-5 time trial event by a huge margin with a time of 35.566.
Cox will not be getting another attempt while it is silver for Marie Patouillet of France and Canada’s Kate O’Brien wins bronze. 
Kadeena Cox veers off the track almost immediately before losing her balance as she looked to rejoin it and falling off her bike. After receiving medal attention she is back on her feet. 
It is unclear whether she will have another attempt but she will only be able to if it was deemed to be a mechanical error rather than an error by Cox.  
Home favourite Marie Patouillet of France continues the pattern of the times getting faster with a time of 36.7 to guarantee herself a medal after a slower start. The French crowd are on their feet after that performance. Cox is up next.
Next to take to the velodrome is Kate O’Brien of Canada who won silver at Tokyo 2020. The 36-year-old clocks a time of 36.87 to go to the top of the leaderboard in the women’s C4-5 time trial final. 
Li Xiaohui of China – a C4 rider – is up next as the fifth-fastest qualifier out of the six finalists. She clocks a time of 37.187 to take the lead. 
Nicole Murray of New Zealand is up first in this women’s C4-5 time trial event. She lays down a marker of 37.425. Murray was the first of six riders in this final. 
For those who are C4, their final times are reduced to 98% of their initial time to counter for the additional impairment compared to the C5 riders who will have no reduction. 
Great Britain’s Kadeena Cox will be going for her third successive gold in the women’s C4-5 time trial event in less than five minutes.
Athletes will be timed separately over 500m with the fastest taking gold.
Kadeena Cox already has four Paralympic gold medals to her name after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2015.
The 33-year-old made history at Rio 2016 as she took home gold in both para cycling and para athletics – the first British Paralympian for 32 years to achieve the remarkable feat.
She went on to win two more cycling golds at Tokyo 2020, 
Kadeena Cox will be competing in the final of the C4 500m time trial. The C indicates the athletes are riding a standard bike as opposed to a handheld bike, a tandem bike or a tricycle. 
The subsequent number can range from one to five with athletes riding in the C1 division being the most impaired while those taking part in C5 are the least impaired.
For those in C4, athletes have a physical impairment that often moderately affects both legs, or have a limb difference or loss of function in one leg below the knee. 
A reminder that ParalympicsGB’s 14-year-old Bly Twomey and her partner Fliss Pickard have secured themselves a medal after making it into WD14 semi-finals earlier today. 
Pressure? What pressure? 😎Fliss Pickard and 14-year-old Bly Twomey are guaranteed at LEAST a bronze medal after cruising through to the WD14 semi-finals 🤩#C4Paralympics | #ParalympicGames | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/VZ8b0rZj1O
A reminder there are 22 gold medals up for grabs on day one of the Games with plenty of opportunities for ParalympicsGB. 
The first of GB’s medal hopefuls is Kadeena Cox who will hope to add to her four Paralympic gold medals in the women’s C4-5 500m time trial final in the Velodrome at 14:50 BST. 
Patrick Wilson has beaten his ParalympicsGB team mate Will Arnett 5-3 in their BC3 men’s individual pool A contest. 
ParalympicsGB team mates Will Arnett and Patrick Wilson are currently going head to head in the BC3 men’s individual pool A Boccia match at the South Paris Arena.
GB’s Steve Bate, who just clinched the world record in the men’s B 4,000m individual pursuit qualifiers, has quickly had the record taken from him after a strong performance from Dutch Para-cyclist Tristan Bangma. 
The Netherlands contestant, who previously held the record before Bate broke it, completed his qualifying race with a time of 3:55.396, speedily reclaiming the achievement.
The two Para-cyclists will go head-to-head in the final this afternoon which will take place at around 3:50pm BST. 
Steve Bate, GB double Paralympic champion and three-time world champion, has smashed the world record in the men’s B 4,000m individual pursuit with a qualifying time of 3:56.435.
Previous record holder, Dutch Para cyclist Tristan Bangma, will ride next. However Bates and his pilot Christopher Latham are in with a strong chance of reaching the gold final later this afternoon. 
A dominant display from the GB women’s wheelchair basketball team saw them beat Spain 69-34 at the Bercy Arena on Thursday afternoon. 
There were standout performances from Robyn Love, Lucy Robinson, and Jade Atkin, all of whom racked up double-digit scores. 
The team will face Canada next on Saturday at 9:30am BST. 
Daphne Schrager – who previously competed in track and field –  used the Covid pandemic lockdown to become an elite cyclist. 
She made the switch in 2019 and has since won numerous competitions and titles. She is now a multiple national champion and world champion on both the track and the road. 
Growing up with cerebral palsy, a sporting career was not something that young Schrager ever considered possible. But she was inspired after watching the London 2012 Paralympics in person… talk about legacy. 
Schrager set a new world record in the qualifying rounds of the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit at the Velodrome this afternoon. 
The 23-year-old from Malmesbury will compete in the final at around 3:30pm BST. 
Daphne Schrager, GB Para-cyclist, has qualified for the women’s C1-3 3,000m individual pursuit final after qualifying with a record-breaking time of 3.45.133 in a nail-biting race at the Velodrome. 
She reclaimed her world record in the C2 category, after witnessing it being broke by another competitor just moments before.
Her performance placed her second overall in the qualifiers, meaning she will race against China’s Wang Xiaomei in the final at 3:30pm BST this afternoon.
Para triathlon events at the Games, where the swimming leg is being held in the River Seine, will take place on September 1 instead of across two days because of the weather forecast, organisers have said.
At the Olympics, triathlon events and training sessions were subjected to some reshuffling as adverse weather conditions led to a spike in bacteria levels in the Seine.
“All 11 medal events will now take place on 1 September, instead of across two days, on 1 and 2 September,” Paris 2024 said in a statement.
“The decision to hold all medal events on one day was taken in view of the weather forecast and to provide athletes and coaches with as much certainty as possible. The course of the swim remains unchanged.”
The French capital has been working on cleaning up the Seine so people can swim in it again but a sewer problem last summer led to the cancellation of a pre-Olympics swimming event.
All triathlon events at the Olympics, however, were held with the swimming leg in the Seine.
Organisers said that they had set aside two contingency days on September 2 and 3.
A dominant performance from the GB women’s wheelchair basketball team sees them lead Spain 37-17 in their preliminary group A match after two quarters. 
The team will feel confident heading into the second half after a strong team performance with a stand-out display from GB’s number 16, Jade Atkin. 
A long commute from the heart of the city to arrive at the outstanding, 90 per cent full, very warm Velodrome in Versailles. I arrived just in time to witness Kadeena Cox, GB’s six-time Paralympics medal winner, sprinting in the women’s C4 to C5 500m time trial qualifier, in a time of 35.436 seconds. 
That put her in second position behind the Netherlands’ Caroline Groot who set a new world record after Cox had raced. Racing down from the Press Tribune three floors below to the Mixed Zone for interviews, I tried to get an early word from our British star. But there was not a word from Cox at this stage, and she offered just a glance to Channel 4. Business only.
Pedal to the metal later, we will have interviews with Kadeena around 4:40pm today, 15 mins after the competition to give her time to recover. 
We await our first gold of the Games… can Cox deliver?
A fierce performance from the GB men’s wheelchair rugby team saw them beat Australia, the reigning world champions, at the Champ De Mars Arena this morning. 
The GB team, defending Olympic champions, battled to victory with a final score of 58-55. They currently top their pool group B with two points.
After a strong performance from the GB men’s team this morning, the women’s wheelchair basketball team will aim for similar success in their preliminary group A match against Spain. 
After clinching a silver medal at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball Word Championship, the team failed to build on their success and place on the podium at Tokyo 2020. They will hope to rectify this in their 2024 Games campaign. 
Zambia are expected to take part in the Paralympics despite not featuring in the opening ceremony after they failed to confirm they were travelling to the Games, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Thursday morning.
The country’s flag was nowhere to be seen as the athletes paraded down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde on Wednesday evening in an event attended by some 50,000 people.
Craig Spence, IPC spokesperson, said: “The Zambia flag was not included in the parade. No one has arrived yet, we’ve had zero communication in the last few days so we told them if you don’t confirm your travelling (plans) and show us your tickets, we will remove the flag.
“We had nothing but this morning in our inbox was proof that they were coming.” 
He did not elaborate on the date of arrival of the Zambia delegation.
Two athletes from Zambia are scheduled to participate in the Games, with their para-athletics events taking place on September 4 and 5.
At Arena Porte de la Chapelle for the para-badminton, and Jurgen Klopp is in the building. He is here to support his close friend Wojtek Czyz, a former professional footballer who tore his knee playing for amateur club VfR Grunstadt in 2001 and ended up having his left lower leg amputated. 
He met Klopp during his rehabilitation and has since taken up New Zealand citizenship, having become trapped in the country during the pandemic due to strict border closures. As Klopp has put it: “The best and most honest stories happen in para sports.”
Kadeena Cox, GB’s six-time Paralympics medal winner, sped into second place in the women’s C4 to C5 500m time trial qualifier, guaranteeing her a place in the final this afternoon. 
With an impressive time of 35.436 seconds, she placed behind the Netherlands’ Caroline Groot who set a new world record. The Dutch rider has five world titles in this discipline.
The final this afternoon will be GB’s first chance at a medal and will take place from 2:50pm BST.
ParalympicsGB’s men’s wheelchair basketball team have kicked their Games campaign off with an impressive win against Germany. The Bercy Arena crowd erupted with cheers as the GB men powered clear with a 24-point final quarter in the group A preliminary round match.
Tully Kearney, GB’s world record holder in the women’s S5 200m freestyle, came through her heat on top with a time of 2:49.40. That’s much slower than her 2:42.36 world record — but it’s more than good enough to take her into the third and last heat to qualify for the final, which takes place later tonight.
The 27-year-old is one of only two British defending champions in the pool. Maisie Summers-Newton is the other and is preparing to defend her SB6 100m breaststroke and SM6 200m medley titles.
David Smith gets his Paralympic campaign off to a solid start with a 5-2 win. The defending champion and two-time gold medallist could not be matched by his experienced Brazilian opponent, Jose de Oliveira.
Smith returns on Saturday morning to face Daniel Perez of the Netherlands.
Actor and martial artist Jackie Chan, who carried the Paralympic flame through the streets of Paris yesterday, has also been at the Taekwondo this morning to perform a mini opening ceremony to kick the event off.
Britain’s most successful boccia player of all time, David Smith, is seeking to pull off a three-peat by adding a third consecutive gold in the men’s BC1. 
It will be a chance for Smith to add a sixth medal to his Paralympic collection at his fifth Games. The Briton made his Paralympic debut at Beijing 2008, in the gold medal-winning boccia team. Smith’s dominance in the BC1 category continued at Rio 2016, where he won the individual gold and in 2018 he cemented his status as the best player at the World Championships in Liverpool. 
Sporting his trademark red-and-blue mohawk, he’s currently embroiled in a tight 3-2 contest against Brazil’s Jose de Oliveira in his opening match. 
En route to the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, where Kadeena Cox looks to defend the women’s C4-5 500m time trial she claimed gold in at Tokyo 2020. What a view over the City of Light from the train towards Versailles. After last night’s immense and moving exposition at the Place de la Concorde at the Opening Ceremony my sense is that we are in for a spectacular Games. I’ll be getting you the lowdown from one of our most successful sports over the next few days…and in Tokyo three years ago, we topped the cycling medal table with 10 gold, 11 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Team GB’s flag-bearer Terry Bywater is beginning his Paralympics with the British Men’s wheelchair basketball team, who have just tipped off their opener against Germany.
GB have a strong record in the sport and are obvious medal contenders. They will be hoping to at least match their bronze-placed finish at the Tokyo Games.
They’ve made an energetic start and lead 8-2.
GB swimmer Toni Shaw is comfortably through to the final of the Women’s S9 400m freestyle. She will line up as 6th fastest.
The 21-year-old is a three-time World champion and won the bronze in this event at the Tokyo Games. She will be looking to replicate that success here in Paris.
Australia’s Lakeisha Patterson, who leaves the pool all smiles, qualifies with the fastest time. Once they were up into their strokes it was all Patterson, who will have her sights set on taking the gold later.
An ambient lightshow opens the La Defense Arena for the first swimming heats of the Games, which will continue throughout the day.
Elsewhere, GB’s Jack Shephard and Rachel Choong have lost their opening group game of the SH6 para Badminton Mixed Doubles 21-14, 21-12 to Indonesian pair Subhan Subhan and Marlina Rina. A tough start — but they have a chance to make up the ground tomorrow against China’s Lin and Li.
This will go down as a historic match however, as Rachel Choong becomes ParalympicGB’s first ever female para Badminton player.
Many will be familiar with Olympic disciplines like swimming and rowing returning in their Paralympic forms, but the Games will also feature several sports that do not appear at the Olympics at all. 
Due to the classification system, which splits each sport into different groups of athletes with similar impairments to ensure fair competition, the Paralympics has multiple versions — sometimes many multiples — of each event.
Boccia (pronounced bot-cha) and goalball are two disciplines unique to the Paralympics that have featured fully in the sporting line-up since 1984. The accessibility of boccia in particular has allowed athletes with severe disabilities to take part and compete for their national teams.
As the Games get under way, here is an overview of some of the most unique Paralympic sports and how they are played and won.
Things have already kicked off in Paris. The first points have been won in the para Badminton doubles over in Porte de La Chapelle Arena, with Goalball and para Archery happening elsewhere.
Team GB’s first Paralympians will be in action later this morning. Here’s what to watch out for:
Boccia
Great Britain’s Claire Taggart, world No 1 for the entirety of 2023, will be hoping for a strong start, alongside Paralympics debutant and Kayleigh Haggo.
Para cycling track 
ParalympicsGB royalty Kadeena Cox will look to add a seventh medal to her collection on the first day of the competition.
Para swimming 
Toni Shaw and William Ellard in action for GB. Thirteen time World champion and eight time European champion Simone Barlaam of Italy is also in the mix.
You can find our full schedule for the Games here.
Last night’s opening ceremony was a simple, powerful and classical display witnessed by 65,000 seated in the largest and most historic square in the capital of France.
Andrew Parsons, head of the Paralympic movement, sitting alongside Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, summed up the symbolism of the ceremony’s picture-perfect parade of music, dance and celebration of athletes with impairments as “a gigantic hug”.
Tony Estanguet, president of the 2024 organising committee, speaking before Parsons, said: “We are determined to give everything — our hearts, our souls, and above all you will find an entire country in love with the Games to host you for the first time.” 
You can read Gareth A Davies’ full report of the opening ceremony as it happened here.
Last night in Paris, the curtain was raised on the 17th Summer Paralympic Games with a dazzling but more traditional Opening Ceremony than the Olympics. 
168 delegations paraded along the Champs-Elysées, ending in La Place de la Concorde, with the Eiffel Tower lit as a backdrop crowned by a glorious sunset.
For the next 11 days, 4,400 Paralympic athletes from those delegations, including a refugee team, will compete in 549 medal events in 22 sports.
ParalympicsGB will hope to build on their success after making history at Tokyo 2020. The team won medals in 18 sports — the most of any nation ever — and finished second in the table, behind China, with 124 medals in total. 
Medals will be up grabs from the off, with GB athletes getting their campaigns underway in the boccia, para cycling track and para swimming later on this morning.
Britain’s most successful boccia player of all time, David Smith, has a chance to add a sixth medal to his Paralympic collection at his fifth Games, which includes golds from Beijing and Rio. You can tune in to the boccia from 10:40am.