Paralympics GB: Royals see records broken as athletes go for gold

WORLD-beaters Sarah Storey and Jonathan Fox led the gold medal charge for Paralympics GB on a dramatic first day of the Games.

Cyclist Storey powered through her event by smashing her own world record in the heats before storming to victory in front of a frenzied crowd in the Velodrome.

Fox, who also set a new world record in his qualifier, won Great Britain’s first swimming gold at the Aquatics Centre last night.

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The pair were the standout performers on a successful first day which saw Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge among the crowds cheering on British athletes who also won three silvers and two bronze medals.

Storey’s victory is made more remarkable because she started her career in the pool before switching to the track.

The 34-year-old, from Manchester, now has eight Paralympic titles and 19 medals in total since making her debut in the Barcelona Games in 1992. She capped her win with a lap of honour as the crowd, which also included deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lord Coe, cheered.

Storey, who was born with a partly formed left hand, said: “I always thought that if I could get off to a great start it would set up the week and hopefully that’s the case. To get the gold medal is a dream come true.”

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Fox, 21, who was born in Cornwall and trains in Manchester, is known to use a Rubik’s Cube to get into the right state of mind for a race. Last night the swimmer, who has cerebral palsy, led from the start as the capacity crowd went wild.

Britain’s first medal of the Games was won by Mark Colbourne, who completed a dramatic turnaround after fighting back from a horrific paragliding accident just three years ago. The 42-year-old broke his back in May 2009 and required five months of physiotherapy to get back on his feet. He won silver in the Velodrome.

Colbourne, of Newport, South Wales, said: “It’s very exciting. We have worked for the last 18 months towards this.”

His proud mother, Margaret, 70, who watched alongside his daughter Jessica, 18, fought back tears as she spoke of her son’s achievement: “I can’t tell you how I feel, I’m just so very proud of him, I only wish his dad could have been here with him.

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Partially-sighted Ben Quilter fought overcame the odds to win a bronze medal in the under 60kg judo. Swimmer Hannah Russell, 16, who has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, narrowly lost to Oxana Savchenko as she won silver in the 400m freestyle.

Lothersdale archer Danielle Brown began her defence of the women’s compound with an opening total 676 to leave her in first place for the elimination round today.

Leeds swimmer Claire Cashmore made it to the final of the women’s S9 100m butterfly final as second in her heat. She finished eighth in the final.

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