Graham, Wiggs and Henshaw win trio of golds for GB

Finlay Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw won gold medals on Saturday morning at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, taking Great Britain’s tally to 45.

Graham, 24, won the men’s C1-3 road race, while Wiggs, 44, was victorious in the women’s VL2 200m Va’a Single final.

Henshaw, 37, continued GB’s Para-canoe success, winning the women’s VL3 Single final, where there was also a silver medal for Hope Gordon. David Phillipson took silver in the men’s KL2 Single final.

Daniel Powell has guaranteed himself at least a silver medal in the men’s -90kg men’s J1 judo.

In Para-equestrian, Sophie Wells won the bronze medal in the Grade V individual freestyle event.

Great Britain now have a total of 106 medals at the Paralympics, including those 45 golds. Only China, with 85 golds and 195 total medals, have more.

Graham started Saturday’s medal haul for Great Britain by beating France’s Thomas Peyroton-Dartet in a sprint finish to the 71km route.

Graham led the race with Peyroton-Dartet and fellow French cyclist Alexandre Leaute throughout, and the trio broke clear on the third of five laps, with Leaute fading late in the race to take bronze.

As they approached the finish, Graham had been slightly behind Peyroton-Dartet, but made a late push to win his second medal in Paris by less than a second.

Graham also won silver in the men’s C3 3,000m individual pursuit on the track last week.

Britons Benjamin Watson, Jaco van Gass and Matthew Robertson were fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Daphne Schrager finished sixth and Fran Brown seventh in the women’s race won by Japan’s Keiko Sugiura.

Four of Great Britain’s six medals on Saturday morning came at Vaires-sur-Marne.

First it was Wiggs to win gold for ParalympicsGB. She won the women’s VL2 200m Va’a Single final by more than a second to win the event for a second consecutive Games.

Jeanette Chippington, 54, also featured in the final, finishing fourth.

Henshaw then doubled Britain’s Para-canoe gold tally in what was a gold and silver double in the women’s VL3 200m Va’a Single final.

In the inaugural edition of the event, Henshaw finished almost a second clear of fellow Briton Gordon, who won silver.

In the men’s KL2 Single final, Phillipson finished in second to take the silver medal, three years after finishing seventh in the same event in Tokyo.

Powell will win at least a silver medal in the men’s -90kg J1 competition in Para-judo after reaching the final.

It took almost eight minutes, of which four were in golden score, for Powell to win his semi-final against France’s Cyril Jonard 1-0.

Powell’s gold-medal match is against Brazil’s Arthur Cavalcante da Silva.

In the men’s +90kg J2 competition, Christopher Skelley could win a bronze medal later on Saturday when he faces Indonesia’s Tony Ricardo Mantolas.

Four-time Paralympic champion Wells, 34, added to her Paralympic medal tally with a bronze on Saturday morning, her 10th Paralympic medal.

Wells scored 75.445% on her horse LJT Egebjerggards Samoa in the Grade V event.

Defending world champion Michele George of Belgium won gold, scoring 81.470%. Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp took silver at Chateau de Versailles in Paris.

Wells also won bronze in the individual Grade V test on Wednesday.

Faye Rogers will feature in Saturday night’s SM10 women’s 200m individual medley final. She finished second in her heat on Saturday morning, just over a second and a half behind Hungary’s Bianka Pap.

In the women’s S8 100m butterfly, Brock Whiston and Alice Tai finished second in their heats to progress into Saturday’s final.

Stephen Clegg will be back in action in the S12 men’s 100m butterfly final. Clegg, who is the world record holder in the event, was fastest in the heats.

Isaac Towers missed out on a medal in the men’s T38 800m final after finishing in sixth place.

In the men’s T13 long jump final, Zak Skinner narrowly missed out the podium with a fourth-place finish. His best jump of 6.83m came in the first round, but was 37cm outside the medals.