Comments from ParalympicsGB cyclists following the opening day in the velodrome, which saw Daphne Schrager and Stephen Bate win silver medals.
Daphne Schrager
Sport: Para Cycling
Result: Silver in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit, ParalympicsGB’s first medal of Paris 2024.
Age: 23
Hometown: Malmesbury
On the result:
“I’m very privileged to have got a medal at all and to do it in front of my family and friends and the whole team is an amazing achievement.
“If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have bitten your arm off for a medal. A whole army is behind us and gets us to this point, I could count 30 people who have helped me get here and this medal goes to all of them.”
On the final:
“I could feel she (gold medallist Xiaomei Weng) was coming and I knew I didn’t have any more to give. I gave it everything and I broke my world record in the process, I’m so happy I did that. She was just better on the day.
“Especially with my condition, cerebral palsy, it can just get the better of you sometimes and it’s one of those things you have to live with. When I do strenuous exercise, it gets worse and I feel more fatigued in general, so the second ride is always a challenge.”
Stephen Bate
Sport: Para Cycling
Result: Silver in the men’s B 4000m individual pursuit with pilot Christopher Latham.
Age: 23
Hometown: Malmesbury
On the medal:
"The medal represents nine months of hard graft and a massive team effort.
"I'm proud of the silver but I wanted to do it for those guys who have stood behind us and put this ride together for us. We're just the lucky guys who are on the bike. It's the staff behind us who have really driven this project and I'm super proud of them. We gave it everything, we had to try to beat the Dutch guys but they proved how world class they are."
Kadeena Cox
Sport: Para Cycling
Result: Sixth in the women’s C4-5 500m time trial, 6th after falling shortly after starting.
Age: 33
Hometown: Leeds
On the fall:
“It was a weird one. I didn’t feel comfortable in the gate and then when I started. My right side is my weak side and with a condition like mine, riding can’t always be perfect. I think I overcompensated and just couldn’t balance on my weaker side. It was all over the shop.”
On injury:
“I think I got back on the bike two weeks ago. I was in a boot four weeks ago. It has just been a really rubbish year. This time last year I couldn’t walk because I had a really bad relapse that affected my right side.
“It has been a rollercoaster, I guess that’s MS. It’s just not what you want a year out from the Games. The fact that I got here was amazing in itself, I’m just gutted that I was able to ride a ride that was pretty great in the first round and then not go out there and show what I’m capable of.”
Comentarios