Great Britain climb the medal table with two golds as Marcus Perrineau-Daley and Sammi Kinghorn take home silvers
Ben Sandilands secured Britain’s fifth Para-athletics gold in Paris this morning (September 6) as he set a new world record in the men’s 1500m T20.
The 21-year-old was sitting in third place behind American Mikey Brannigan and Italy’s Ndiaga Dieng as the final lap began but powered past his competitors to win with a time of 3:45.40 – taking 0.10 seconds off Brannigan’s previous world record.
Making his Paralympic debut, Sandilands takes the title from fellow Scot Owen Miller, who won the Tokyo 2020 gold but missed these Games due to injury. Sandilands also obliterated his own personal best of 3:47.02, continuing his golden streak after winning world gold in Paris last year.
Ben Sandilands (Getty)
“It is an incredible feeling; it has been amazing,” said Sandilands. “A lot of hard work has gone into this. I want to say a big thanks to my family and friends, and my coach who have helped me get here.
“I knew I would be fast at the end of the race. I knew I had it. Timing had to be perfect from the 200m mark. I had to go for it and not hold back. I look forward to celebrating with all my family and friends around me.”
Last night (September 5), Dan Pembroke successfully defended his F13 javelin title in spectacular fashion, breaking the world record twice.
The British athlete first surpassed the previous global best of 71.01m, set by Uzbekistan’s Aleksandr Svechnikov in 2017, with a throw of 71.15m. The 33-year-old then shattered his own mark with a remarkable 74.49m throw to retain his title after his 69.52m victory in Tokyo.
Pembroke’s latest throw ranks as the third best by any British javelin thrower this year, just behind Berkshire’s Benjamin East, who reached 75.85m.
Dan Pembroke (Getty)
“I have never experienced anything like that before in my life,” said Pembroke. “It was such a feeling. How can you put a world record into words? It is a dream come true.
“I am in the same shape I was in when I was 20. I never thought that was possible. 74 metres, wow! When the 71.15m landed, I was absolutely elated. Then the Iranian comes in and throws 69m throw, and I thought at that moment, this job is not done yet. I need to calm down and collect myself.
“I have been visualising this for a long time, someone coming back to me and it becoming a scrap. It is exactly what I did and I focused on a bigger throw.
“I am like one and a half metres off what I was throwing as an able-bodied athlete in my 20s, so there isn’t much of a gap. John Trower, my coach, told me that the 74m was still messy! He’s a hard man to please, but it proves I am not giving up anytime soon. LA is the next one.”
Pembroke’s success was followed by Sammi Kinghorn’s impressive fourth medal of the Games, taking silver in the women’s 400m T53. The 28-year-old finished in 53.45, just behind Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
Sammi Kinghorn (Getty)
Kinghorn’s stellar performance in Paris includes a gold in the 100m and three silvers in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m. She now sets her sights on adding another medal in the upcoming mixed 4x100m universal relay.
In another success, Marcus Perrineau-Daley captured silver in the men’s 100m T52 clocking 17.27 – an impressive achievement for the athlete who only began competing in 2020.
Great Britain sit sixth on the medal table with a total of 12 medals.
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