Can Britain hold on to second in the medals table?
With the prospects of gold on the track, in the pool and in the Paralympic sport of boccia, British competitors are looking to consolidate second place in the medals table.
ParalympicsGB’s medal prospects in the swimming pool look good today, as Ellie Simmonds and Heather Fredriksen – already medal winners at these Games – return to the Aquatics Centre.
Simmonds, who set a world record defending her S6 400 metres freestyle title at the weekend and secured a second gold in the 200 metres individual medley on Monday, competes in the S6 women’s 50m freestyle event. The final takes place at 17.47.
Meanwhile Heather Fredriksen, who won silver in the S8 400 metres on Saturday, will be defending her Beijing gold medal in the women’s S8 100 metres backstroke. The final is scheduled for 17.36.
Later in the evening, Matt Walker, who has won gold in the last three Paralympics as part of the men’s 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay team, will hope to turn Beijing silver into gold in the 50 metres freestyle, at 20.05.
In athletics, 17-year-old rising star Sally Brown makes her Paralympics debut in the T46 100m event.
Tracey Hinton, by contrast, is one of ParalympicsGB’s most experienced athletes – London 2012 will be the sixth Games at which she has represented her country. She has a visual impairment and will be performing with guide runner Steffan Hughes in the T11 100 metres.
Blind football and boccia
Blind football is one of the Paralympic events that easily catches the public’s imagination. The ParalympicsGB side have managed to draw their first two pool matches, against Spain and Argentina. The final pool game, against Iran, is at 15.30. Team captain Dave Clarke (pictured above) is due to win his 142nd cap.
At Beijing in 2008 the British team established a reputation as one of the leading nations in Boccia, a bowling game open to athletes with cerebral palsy and other severe physical disabilities. They won Paralympic gold in the BC1/BC2 team and silver in the individual BC2.
Today there are medals in three Boccia categories: mixed pairs BC4, mixed pairs BC3 and mixed teams BC1-2.
Since the 2004 Athens Games, Nigel Murray – Britain’s most successful player and the fifth most successful of all time – has won two golds and one silver medal. Currently world number one, he is likely to feature in the BC1-2 team event.
