Paralympics: Jonnie Peacock wins blade-running gold
Jonnie Peacock secures gold in the T44 100m sprint, setting a new Paralympic record and fending off his sporting hero Oscar Pistorius.
Peacock ran the race in a time of 10.9 seconds, a new Paralympioc record. Richard Browne won the silver medal and Arnu Fouri picked up the bronze.
At the start of the race Peacock kissed his grandfather’s St Christopher’s medal he wears around his neck. He than got off to a great start and continued to ease away from the rest of the field. Peacock’s hero, Pistorius, came in fourth.
Speaking after the race Peacock said: “It’s absolutely surreal. This Games is going to be such a huge legacy and it is great to be a part of that.”
Peacock, the world record holder in the T44 100m, qualified in the heats yesterday in the fastest time with his sporting hero, Pistorius, qualifying in the second fastest.
Check out the schedule for all over tomorrow's event on the Channel 4 Paralympics website.
The glamour event featured a fearsome line-up of competitors which, aside from Peacock and Pistorius, included:
- Alan Oliveira, winner of Sunday’s T44 200m gold medal and 100m bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships.
- Jerome Singleton, gold medalist in the T44 100m in last year’s World Championships, as well as the 200m silver medalist.
Johnny Peacock!!!!! Well done son!!! That was awesome….!!! Shabba…!!!!
— Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) September 6, 2012
The Paralympic Stadium featured two other gold-medal winning performances from ParalympicsGB on the track tonight, with Hannah Cockroft (pictured, right) and David Weir both winning their races.
Today has also seen gold for ParalympicsGB in the Aquatics Centre, where 15-year-old Josef Craig broke the world record in the S7 400m freestyle, and in the cycling with Sarah Storey winning her fourth gold of the 2012 Games.
Check out the schedule for all Paralympic events on the Channel 4 Paralympics website.
