- Great Britain’s Cockroft wins gold in Paralympic Games record
- Champion joins call for para athletics in non-disabled meets
Hannah Cockroft slashed her hand on the wheel of her chair on Saturday morning. She was unable to get stitches because it was too close to her race, which took place on a slippery surface under the pouring rain. Still, no bother. Cockroft duly entered the arena of the Olympic Stadium and left the field in the T34 800m for dead, claiming her seventh Paralympic gold medal in the process, and only just missing out on her own world record. “I’m absolutely gutted,” she revealed afterwards, with a smile.
Depending on the angle you viewed the race from, it was possible to think that Cockroft was out on the track alone, so great was the distance between herself and the rest of the field. She won in a Paralympic record time, despite sodden conditions in the Olympic Stadium.