COCKROFT: INCREDIBLE RIO DID US ALL PROUD

HANNAH COCKROFT praised Rio yesterday for hosting an ‘incredible’ Paralympics despite a funding crisis overshadowing the build-up to the Games. Wheelchair racer Cockroft contributed three of Great Britain’s 64 golds — the team’s best haul since Seoul 1988. The 24-year-old said: ‘We’d heard so much bad stuff, no ticket sales, no crowds, but we had awesome crowds. Even the days when it was half full, they were so loud and passionate.’ Cockroft, who took the T34 100metres, 400m and 800m titles, did have to overcome a change in schedule after all three of her heats were cancelled. A lack of strength in depth in her category meant all three events went straight to finals and in some races she had to beat just five rivals. ‘I came here for six races and I only did three,’ she said. ‘Our 100m heat was cancelled eight hours before the race and, as an athlete, your prep starts the night before. It’s hard to keep going.’ The legacy of London 2012 was obvious in the Rio medallists, many of whom had been inspired by the home Games. Georgie Hermitage, who has cerebral palsy and went to London as a spectator, won two golds and a silver on the track. Swimmer Ellie Robinson, who has the same dwarfism as Ellie Simmonds, was encouraged by watching her in London and went on to win a gold and a bronze.