Venue: Tokyo, Japan Dates: 24 August-5 September Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
Coverage: Follow on Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sport website |
Sophie Hahn defended her Paralympic title in the T38 100m, with fellow Briton Thomas Young winning the men’s event in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old held her composure to fend off Colombian Darian Faisury Jimenez Sanchez in 12.43 seconds.
Shortly before Hahn’s gold, Young, 21, pipped Zhu Dening to the men’s T38 100m title in a personal best of 10.94 – 0.06 ahead of the Chinese sprinter.
It was the first time that Young had broken 11 seconds.
Young just lost out to Zhu in a photo finish at the 2019 World Para-athletics Championships, when both men clocked 11.00.
“It’s so special after the heartbreak of what happened at the Worlds, I just can’t explain what I’m feeling right now,” he said.
“The time is a bonus but I just wanted to win. Having that personal best just makes it even better though.
“I want to be a dominant force in this sport, I know Paris is next but I’m already thinking about Brisbane (2032 Paralympics). That’s the long-term aim.”
Jimenez Sanchez had broken Hahn’s Paralympic record of 12.54 in her heat, but Hahn responded in her own heat by equalling her own world record of 12.38.
The Nottingham athlete, who is unbeaten in this event since 2014 and now has three Paralympic medals, said: “That’s definitely the hardest I’ve ever been pushed. She was hot on my heels and I really thought it would be a photo finish.”I saw Thomas and that really spurred me on.”
Fellow Britons Olivia Breen (13:13) and Ali Smith (13:24) finished in sixth and eighth respectively.
Reid misses out on third consecutive medal
In the morning session, Stef Reid managed the second-longest jump of her career, 5.75m, but was unable to match her silver medals from London 2012 and Rio 2016, finishing fourth in the women’s T64 long jump.
Netherlands’ Marlene van Gansewinkel pipped her to the bronze by just 3cm with Dutchwoman Fleur Jong setting a new world record of 6.16m to take gold.
Reid, 36, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I did measure out 3cm when I got home just to check how small it was. Obviously on some level it is bittersweet but it was definitely more sweet than bitter. I jumped the best series I’ve ever jumped in my career.”
David Devine, 29, finished just outside the podium places in the T13 5,000m, running a season’s best 14 minutes 38.00 seconds, just over half a second behind the Russian Paralympic Committee’s Aleksandr Kostin. Morocco’s Youssef Benibrahim took gold.
Devine, who won two bronzes at London 2012, missed out on Rio 2016 with a long-term Achilles injury.
Luke Nuttall placed ninth in the men’s T46 1500m, in four minutes 02.65 seconds.
The 19-year-old son of Olympians Alison Wyeth and John Nuttall won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Poland earlier this year.