Paralympic legends Sarah Storey and Oksana Masters win Paris golds
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Gold medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates with her medal on the podium after winning the C5 time trial at the Paris Paralympics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS – British Paralympic great Sarah Storey and Ukrainian-born American cyclist Oksana Masters both added more titles to their collections with time-trial victories in Paris on Sept 4.
Storey, competing in her ninth Paralympics at the age of 46, won the 18th gold medal of a career that began in swimming by taking the C5 time trial ahead of French hope Heidi Gaugain.
She completed the course in 20min 22.15sec, beating her opponent by more than four seconds.
She also extended her record as the most successful British Paralympian, ahead of swimmer Mike Kenny’s 16.
Born without a functioning left hand, Storey has now won 29 Paralympic medals of all colours since she made her debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Her latest win was her 13th Paralympic gold in cycling, with the other five from swimming.
“I’m very happy. I am over the moon. But I know that there’s always ways to improve things,” Storey said.
Despite her win, she slammed the Paris organisers for the 14.1km distance, saying it was the first time she had raced a Games course shorter than 22km.
“This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we have ever had, and I think it’s a real shame because we don’t get to showcase para-sport in the way we want to,” Storey added.
“You’ll have to ask organisers. There’s plenty of time in the day for us to do two laps like the men. Having fought so hard for parity in women’s cycling, to not have it is a real disappointment.”
That issue aside, she also took the time to reflect on her journey, which began at age 14 in Barcelona in the pool before she made the switch to cycling 12 years later in Athens.
Storey believes the Paralympics can continue to make a difference in society, even if there is still work to be done.
“The sporting legacy is really important to make sure that young children can see who they can look up to and how they can get into the clubs and from the grassroots of sport,” she said.
“We’ve benefited from that in the UK since London (2012), without a doubt, you can see that from the team that’s performing here.”
Masters, who was born in Ukraine with significant birth defects believed to be linked to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, including missing thumbs and weight-bearing bones in her legs, claimed the eighth Paralympic gold of her career when she won the H4-5 category.
She clocked 23:45.20, more than 6sec ahead of Dutchwoman Chantal Haenen.
The 35-year-old, whose first Games was in 2012, had previously won medals in rowing and in a range of winter sports, including cross-country skiing. She has a total of 18 medals across the Winter and Summer Games.
Immersing herself in different sporting disciplines has helped her find herself.
“It was a journey for me to love and accept myself and see my body as powerful and strong,” she told CNN previously.
“Sports really taught me how it was okay to take my legs off in front of people and to still feel powerful.” AFP, REUTERS
