Four Gold Sunday For Wales At The Paralympics
It has been an extraordinarily successful first weekend for the Welsh contingent of Team GB in the Paralympics.
Four gold medals alone for Welsh athletes on Sunday has brought the tally of Welsh medals to seven, which would place Wales equal ninth with Italy in the overall medal table.
With so much going on, Sportin Wales has rounded-up the weekend’s winners and some to keep an eye on for the rest of this week:
Ben Pritchard – Gold – PR1 Single Sculls
Ahead of the Paralympics, Pritchard was not shy in admitting that his Tokyo Games was a disappointment.
The only para-rower from Team GB’s squad who didn’t come back with a medal was an “incredibly lonely” place to be.
Three years on, Pritchard’s Paris Paralympics could not have started better.
A gold in the PR1 single sculls improved on his fifth place finish in 2021. Having trailed Italy’s Giacomo Perini during the first 1,500m of the 2,000m event, Pritchard started his charge with 500m to go and eased to victory in the home straight, finishing with a time of nine minutes 03.84 seconds.
Sabrina Fortune – Gold – F20 Shot Put
A Paralympic gold makes you a legend. A world record gold, and you enter the pantheon of sporting immortality.
Sabrina Fortune’s throw of 15.12m broke her own world record by 29cm at the first attempt to seal her maiden Games title in style, having won bronze in Rio but placed fifth in Tokyo three years ago.
“I still can’t believe it, especially on the first throw. I just wanted to jump up and down and celebrate right then – and then I remembered I [still] had five more throws after that,” Fortune said.
Olivia Breen – T38 100m
Livvy Breen narrowly missed out on the T38 100m final after finishing fourth in her heat, ninth overall.
Breen will be back on the field this time in the T38 long jump – the event she won bronze in Tokyo.
“I was trying to react to the gun but the crowd was so noisy,” said Breen, who won bronze at the 2012 Games in the T35-T38 4x100m relay.
“I don’t want to give any excuses, I could have run better but things happen. I’ve got to remember that the long jump is still to come and that will make me more hungry.
“The long jump is 100% my target and getting the chance to compete and get used to the stadium will only help. The crowd will really lift me in the long jump and I’m really excited to get back out there.”
Rhys Darbey – Gold – S14 Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay
17-year-old swimmer Rhys Darbey took home gold in the S14 mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, as part of a young and hungry relay team.
With all four members of the team under the age of 20, it was clear that there is more to come for this quartet of swimmers.
“It’s great, one race, one gold. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in LA [in 2028]. Everyone in this team is under 20. Hopefully that world record can be ours in LA,” Darbey added.
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Jodie Grinham – Bronze – Compound Women Open
Pregnant para-archer Jodie Grinham beat ParalympicsGB team-mate and defending champion Phoebe Paterson Pine to win bronze in the women’s individual compound.
“I’m really proud of myself, I’ve had difficulties and it’s not been easy,” said 31-year-old Grinham, who spent this week “in and out of hospital” in Paris.
“But as long as I’m healthy and baby’s healthy, I knew we could compete. I knew if I shot as well as I could I could come back with a medal.
“Baby hasn’t stopped kicking, it’s almost like baby’s going ‘what’s going on, it’s really loud, mummy what are you doing?’. But it has been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly.”
Grinham is back in action on Monday in the mixed team compound with Nathan MacQueen.
Matt Bush – Gold – K44 +80kg Taekwondo
Matt Bush won his first Paralympic taekwondo gold medal on Saturday as he defeated Neutral Paralympic athlete Aliaskhab Ramazanov in the men’s K44 +80kg final to claim gold.
Bush is a two-team Para-taekwondo world champion but had not won a gold medal at the Paralympics before this weekend.
“I had fought him before, quite a bit,” Bush said.
“He is a very good fighter and I had to be on it and that comes back to building a game plan. It was tough, it was hard but I had to fight.
“I wanted to win at almost all costs. The ups and downs in sport are real. So many athletes get injured and don’t make it. It’s come full circle for me – I’ve had major ups and downs and I’ve battled through it.”
James Ball and Steffan Lloyd – Gold – B 1,000m Time Trial
A pair of Welsh cyclists won gold in the men’s B 1,000m time trial as James Ball was piloted by Steffan Lloyd.
The pair beat Team GB teammates and reigning Paralympic champions Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham to take the gold by 0.348 seconds.
“It’s unbelievable,” Ball said.
“The last time we won the kilo was 2019, we’ve just been chasing them [Fachie and Rotherham].
“Our partnership has had time to gel, we have been trying to match them in the first 500m, that’s what we didn’t have.
“We have been working for this a long time and it has paid off today.”
ParalympicsGB Cyclists, James Ball aged 33, from Ponthir, Wales, pilot rider Steffan Lloyd aged 25, from Llandysul, Wales, wins gold in the Tandem B – 1000m Time Trial – Men event, at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Paul Karabardak – Bronze – Men’s Doubles MD14 Table Tennis
Paul Karabardak became the first Welsh competitor to win a medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics after taking bronze alongside doubles teammate Billy Shilton.
With no bronze medal match, Karabardak and and Shilton won bronze alongside the other beaten semi-finalists – a rather bittersweet end.
Karabardak has a chance of another medal when he plays in the singles.
“I’m really excited to play the singles,” he said.
“I think I’m playing well and if I can try and take that form into the singles, I think it’s going to be difficult, but I think anything’s possible and I’ll just try my best and enjoy myself and see what happens, really.
But I think if I play well, I could get some positive results in the singles as well which would be really good.”
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