Tanni breaks record with second gold

TANNI GREY-THOMPSON became Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian ever today after storming to her second gold medal of the Paralympic Games in Athens.

The Welsh wheelchair racer led the T53m 400 metres final from start to finish and retained her Sydney title in a Paralympic record time of 57.36 seconds and she will go later in the T54 200m final.

Grey-Thompson, already a 100m gold medallist, has now eclipsed fencer Caz Walton’s record of ten career Paralympic gold medals with her 11th golden success.

Sweden’s Madelene Nordlund took the silver while Italian Francesca Porcellato claimed bronze.

"I’m lost for words. There are just so many emotions running around in my head right now. It was a great race," she said.

"When I crossed the finish line I did cry and that’s unusual for me. I was really surprised, I was expecting it to be a lot closer."

Grey-Thompson was going again in tonight’s mixed category T54 200m race and was hoping for another medal, although she knows it’s unlikely to be gold with Chantal Peticlerc in a class of her own. The Canadian qualified fastest in a time of 29.14secs with Grey-Thompson in the same heat clocking 30.75secs.

While Grey-Thompson toasted her triumph, Beverley Jones just missed out on a medal in the women’s F37/38 shot putt final. The Welsh athlete threw a personal best of 10.21m but could not match Aldona Grigaliuniene of Lithuania, who launched a world record 11.07m to take gold.

Ken Churchill was also attempting to defend his F37 javelin title today and Mark Brown was chasing a medal in the men’s T46 5000m. In the Aquatics Centre, Broxburn’s James Anderson will have to beat American Curtis Lovejoy in the final of the men’s S2 50m, while Anthony Stephens cruised into the final of the S5 50m freestyle and Dervis Konuralp also reached the S13 50m freestyle final.

Cycling double gold medallist Darren Kenny is going for a third gold in the CP3 road time trial.

Ian Sharpe goes in the B1-3 time trial but starts down in 16th place after a puncture in the road race, while Dr Gary Williams is also in action in the LC1 event, having finished ninth in the road race. In table tennis, British duo Neil Robinson and James Rawson were facing Korea in the gold-medal match.

Meanwhile, Stephen Payton admits he must find a new level after qualifying for tonight’s 400 metres final. The West Lothian sprinter ran a season’s best of 53.64secs to qualify but was today facing a difficult lane draw because he was only sixth fastest.

Payton, who won three golds in Atlanta, admits standards have improved since the last Games in Sydney while a knee injury sustained in Athens has not helped his medal quest. said: "Times are getting quicker and quicker," he said.