Cowling strikes GB gold
MATLOCK’S Ryan Cowling joked it was time he had some glory after playing a starring role in Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby gold at the Paralympics in Tokyo.
Cowling was one of the unsung heroes, one of those who create scoring chances, as Britain toppled favourites the USA 54-49 in the final, with Jim Roberts scoring 24 tries and Stuart Robinson 14.
“We do all the hard yards and they get all the glory,” laughed Cowling.
“It’s always that way because they are the ones scoring and that’s the name of the game.
“We’re the ones providing the blocks and giving the space to work, remember us guys too!”
Britain had led – but lost – their group stage match to the States but held their nerve this time.
In Chuck Aoki, the USA have the sport’s superstar, a scoring machine, but Cowling and his team-mates reduced his effect.
Four years ago the British team faced an uncertain future after their funding was cut, only to be partially restored in the build-up to this event.
They had never previously won a medal in the sport.
“It feels very surreal, we came
into the competition thinking we could do well but gold, that’s probably beyond our expectations,” said Cowling.
“We wanted to be that first European team to get a medal at the Games and we’ve gone better than that and got the gold.
“It was a shock to lose the funding. We got together at camp after we heard the news and it was a moment of clarity, I think is the word. We thought OK, we’re going to have to work even harder.
“This feels amazing, the culmination of so much hard work. We always believed that this group could do something special and amazing. The Americans have been dominant for so long but this gives us self-belief, we know we can challenge them now.”
THERE was disappointment for Derbyshire’s Dave Ellis in the paratriathlon.
The partially-sighted athlete, competing with guide Luke Pollard, dropped out of contention when his bike chain broke.
Rather than pointlessly complete the event, Ellis pulled out with the European Championships in Valencia next month in mind.
“By the time they were able to fix it they were out of the race already,” said performance director Mike Cavendish.
“They would have had to bury themselves to get anywhere. A mechanical (issue) like that pretty much ends your race and they have to think of the future.” ■■Sponsors’ announcement: No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise around £36m each week for good causes including grassroots and elite sport. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has at www. lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the hashtags: #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen