Pair are world beaters on golden first day

WORLD-BEATERS Sarah Storey and Jonathan Fox led the gold medal charge for ParalympicsGB on a dramatic first day of the games.

Cyclist Storey powered through her event by smashing her own world record in the heats before storming to victory in front of a frenzied crowd in the Velodrome.

Fox, who also set a new world record in his qualifier, won Great Britain’s first swimming gold at the Aquatics Centre.

They were the standout performers on a successful first day, which also saw British athletes win three silvers and two bronze medals.

Storey (34), from Manchester, now has eight Paralympic titles and 19 medals in total since making her debut in the Barcelona Games in 1992.

After her win, Storey, who was born with a partly-formed left hand, said: “I always thought that if I could get off to a great start it would set up the week and hopefully that’s the case.

“To get the gold medal is a dream come true.”

Fox (21), who has cerebral palsy, led from the start as the capacity crowd went wild.

He said: “It was really, really amazing. When you touch the wall the crowd just roars.”

Britain’s first medal of the games was won by Mark Colbourne (42), who completed a dramatic turnaround after fighting back from a horrific paraglider accident three years ago.

He broke his back in the incident and required five months of physiotherapy just to get back on his feet. He won silver in the Velodrome. Partially-sighted Ben Quilter (30) fought back from the brink of adversity and overcame the odds to win a bronze medal in the under 60kg judo.

Swimmer Hannah Russell (16), who has bone disorder achondroplasia, won silver in the 400 metres freestyle.