Key events
Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos of the Netherlands win gold in the men’s B 4000m individual pursuit – again
Steve bate and Chris Latham of GB take silver, Lorenzo Bernard and Davide Plebani of Italy bronze.
The lead is 2.919 at the bell, and the Netherlands are cruising home, leading from gun to tape.
Gosh, at 3ooom the Dutch lead is 2.2s and it’s hard to see how Bate and Latham sort this with just four laps to go.
Just before halfway, the Dutch lead by 1.365; if GB are going to challenge here they need to step on it, because they’re losing 0.5s or so every lap.
Bate won this race in 2016 but the Dutch pair took gold in Tokyo and they lead after two laps; at 750m the gap is 0.7ish.
Our pairs approach their bikes, tension amping up. The Dutch were quicker in qualifying, but this is about racing not pursuit, and here we go! Sixteen laps for gold!
We’re back in the velodrome preparing for the men’s B individual pursuit final, Bate and Latham going for Paralympics GB. Can they beat Bangma and Bos of the Netherlands to win the team’s first gold?
Back to the men’s wheelchair basketball, USA now lead Spain 42-34 with 2.49 to go in the third.
Now under way:
China, China, top of the league!
Back to Cox, the verdict is that she wobbled but there was no mechanical issue – I guess, in a sense that’s bad news, but the tentative good news is that she’ll probably be available for the team event in three days’ time.
Coming up at 4.13: Steve Bate and his pilot, Chris Latham, go in the gold-medal match of the men’s B 4000m pursuit
“It’s just incredible,” says Daphne. A year ago, after an injury, she didn’t even think she’d be here, but she broke a world record, is happy with her process, proud of herself and her coach, and knows how lucky she is to be competing.
Asked about Kadeena, she says her mate got her into cycling and they’re really close; she was hoping for a podium picture together, but she’s got her family with her and she’s going “ride the high”. You do just that!
Wang is beside herself with joy, while Schrager looks disappointed but warmly congratulates the champ; she’ll be back.
Wang Xiaomei of China takes gold in the women’s C1-3 individual pursuit in a world record 3:41.192
That is absrub, three more seconds knocked off a time she set earlier today. Daphne Schrager of GB takes silver, avoiding the catch, with Flurina Rigling of Switzerland claiming bronze.
Gosh, Wang leads by over six second now, and this is over. Schrager will do well to avoid being overtaken here.
Wang’s lead is up to 3.9s at 1125m and that’s a lot for Schrager to claw back – but Wang has gone out so quickly so you never know.
Wang leads by a couple of seconds early doors, but there’s plenty of time for Schrager to catch her…
It’s 12 laps of the track, Schrager taking on Wang Xiaomei of China. Wang was slightly quicker in qualifying, but there’s so little between these two…
Daphne is ready…
In the men’s wheelchair basketball, USA lead Spain 26-25 with 3.25 to go in the second.
Oh and this is lovely, from the British Cycling site:
My first experience on the road was, honestly, dreadful. I fell off five times before I even got out of the car park! But I had people around me, like Steve Cramshaw, a talent academy coach who was there to help. Despite the rough start, I kept coming back, determined to improve. The Covid-19 lockdown ended up being a blessing because it gave me time to improve my skills, like clipping in and out of the pedals—a skill that Kadeena Cox, another incredible para athlete, helped me master.
Coming up, though: Daphne Schrager goes in the C1-3 individual pursuit final.
We’ve still not seen an interview with Our Kadeena, which I guess tells us how she’s feeling. If someone that gregarious and natural on screen doesn’t want to talk, we can be almost certain she’s going through it.
Li Zhangyu of China wins gold in the men’s C1 3000m pursuit
Liang Weicong, also of China, takes silver, and Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain the bronze.
I can’t lie, I’m still reeling – Kadeena Cox is a hero, and watching her heartbroken like this is sore – she’s still sat on the floor mourning, and it’s so out of character it’s even harder to watch than otherwise. But sport being sport and life being life, we’re eyes down for another final, the men’s C3 3000m.
Turns out the issue was not deemed to be a mechanical one, which is why Cox didn’t go again – though it remains to be seen if she’s also hurt. She is, though, back in the team sprint on Sunday, so let’s hope she’s ready to compete.
That was an insane ride from Groot, a worthy champ. But as we cut from her celebrations to Cox, we see her sat alone, legs crossed, crying her life out. And this is sport, I’m afraid– she’s won four golds over two Games, but her cup is not full because that’s not how these superhumans work. This’ll stick with her for evermore and she knows it, but with time, she’ll be proud of what she’s done; she is immortal and eternal.
Caroline Groot of the Netherlands wins gold in the C4-5 500m time trial
Sadly, Kadeena Cox succumbed to what we think was a mechanical issue; Marie Patouillet of France takes silver and Kate O’Brien of Canada bronze.
Goodness us, Groot is absolutely destroying this, inside the fastest time by over a second at halfway.
The issue, our comms think, was mechanical, but in the meantime Caroline Groot, fastest in qualifying, takes to the track. I’m not sure Cox will be able to race after her because the advantage of going last thanks to setting the fastest time is part of the competition.
Glass half-full: the wobble out of the gate was a big hindrance, and when she goes again, she’ll hopefully manage to avoid one. In interview, she said she sometimes gets a bit shaky as a consequence of her MS and hoped her body could refrain for the duration of the competition; I’m not sure if this was that, but it was something, and as Cox departs the track, she looks tearful, my sense that she’ll not be returning.
Kadeena Cox comes off her bike at the first corner!
Cox takes a deep breath and off she goes, a wobbly start putting her under pressure … and she comes off her bike before the first turn. Oh man, that is not good to see, but she’ll get another go I think…
Here comes Kadeena…
Oooh, Patouillet is outside the leader at halfway but she’s an endurance rider so you’d expect her to come on strong at the end … and she does! She leads with 36.7 so, with two riders to come, has guaranteed herself a bronze medal at worst.
