Cockroft delighted to double up and meet high expectations

Halifax’s Hannah Cockroft was delighted to reinforce her credentials as the world’s leading T34 sprinter with a double at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon.
Hannah CockroftHannah Cockroft
Hannah Cockroft

Yorkshire’s Olympic champion added the 100m crown to Sunday’s 200m success as she powered to victory by more than a second and a quarter in Parilly Stadium.

Cockroft finished in 17.88secs, well clear of Holland’s Amy Siemons who clocked 19.15secs. Rosemary Little was third for Australia.

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Cockroft said: “The double is what I came out here to do and it shows I’m still number one.

“Everyone is expecting me to go out and win each time and that is a challenge but I want to win every race that I can enter.”

There were also gold medals for Paul Blake in the T36 800m and Hollie Arnold in the F46 javelin.

Blake led from the start and held off Russia’s Artem Arefyev to win in a personal best 2mins 6.10secs.

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He said: “I could hear the Russian coming behind me but
I managed to keep my cool and I was so relieved and happy when I crossed the line.”

Arnold’s throw of 37.45m was also a lifetime best and the 19-year-old said: “I wasn’t expecting to do that well.

“I was coming out here to get a PB and maybe win a minor medal but as the competition went on I realised I could win gold.”

Jonnie Peacock faces a mouth-watering battle in his T44 100m final after losing his world record in the semi-finals.

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Peacock had run 10.87secs, only two hundredths outside his own world record – until American Richard Browne dashed home in 10.83 in the second semi-final.

Richard Whitehead clocked 24.49 to reach the T42 200m final.

Six-time Paralympic gold medalist and London 2012 hero David Weir admits he has had to adjust to being recognised in the street, but says he has enjoyed the experience following his rise to superstardom last summer.

The 34-year-old collected four gold medals during his home Games last year and will return to the Olympic Stadium on Sunday as part of the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games, where he will compete in a one-mile wheelchair exhibition race. He has been pleased with the reaction to his achievements in 2012 but said the rise to prominence has not changed him personally.

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He will race on Sunday alongside fellow Briton William Smith and other big names from his sport and, although it is only an exhibition event, Weir is setting himself personal targets.

“It doesn’t matter what race it is I still want to be competitive,” said Weir.

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