Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Sarah Storey wins 18th gold on ‘horrific’ course

Britain’s Sarah Storey described the time trial course at the Paris Paralympic Games as “terrible” after winning her 18th gold medal at the Games.

Storey won her fifth consecutive Paralympic title in the women’s C5 event on a course just 14.1km long. It was the first time she had run a Games course shorter than 22km.

Storey beat French hope Heidi Gauguin and said afterwards that the athletes had appealed to Games organisers about the course length of the women’s race but had heard nothing back.

“It’s a short race. This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we’ve ever had, and I think it’s a real shame because we can’t showcase Para sport in the way we want to,” Storey said.

“You’ll have to ask the organizers. There’s enough time in the day for us to do two laps, just like the men. After fighting so hard for equality in women’s cycling, it’s a real disappointment not to have that.

“I’ve had to put that aside and focus on what I could control, because I couldn’t control the race distance. But I hope they never do this again with the women, because it’s been horrible.

“It’s a hilly 10K. I do a lot of it at home, so I have plenty of practice. But at championships you expect a race of at least 22K, which we’ve done at all the other Paralympics.

“Look back at that incredible circuit in Beijing, Brands Hatch with all those fans, Rio was flat but longer, Tokyo we had the motorised circuit, three laps, it was a real challenge.

“This was the most disappointing event in that sense, considering what came before it.”

The 46-year-old trailed Gaugain by more than seven seconds after 5.8km, but she came back in the final leg to retain her title. She won her 13th gold medal in cycling, adding to the five she had won as a swimmer before switching sports in 2008.

Storey, who will compete exclusively in road races at Paris 2024, will be making her ninth appearance at the Games, the most ever for a British athlete.

On Friday she hopes to win her 19th gold medal in the road race.

Among active Paralympic athletes, Belarusian swimmer Ihar Boki has overtaken Storey for the most career gold medals, with 21 after winning five in Paris.

Storey won Wednesday’s time trial in 20 minutes, 22.15 seconds, putting her 4.69 seconds ahead of silver medallist Gaugain – 27 years her junior. Australia’s Alana Forster won bronze.