GB's Storey wins able-bodied gold

Fri, 02 Dec 08:35:00 2011

Former Paralympic cycling champion Sarah Storey added an able-bodied gold to her medal collection as Great Britain's women won team pursuit gold at the Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia.

CYCLING Sarah Story of Great Britain celebrates team pursuit gold in the Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia on December 1 2011 - 0

The 34-year-old, who has won gold medals in both cycling and swimming as a Paralympian, switched to able-bodied competition after the 2008 Beijing Games and took a first major international title on her World Cup debut alongside team-mates Laura Trott and Wendy Houvenaghel.

The British trio set a time of three minutes and 31.835 seconds, beating New Zealand (3:37.072) in the final.

The United States claimed bronze by beating Lithuania in the bronze medal play-off.

The women’s team pursuit collective are the only British representatives at the tournament in Colombia, which is the second of four World Cup meetings this season.

Britain’s entry into the women’s team pursuit was largely a test event for Storey, to assess her overall progress and compatibility alongside Trott and Houvenhagel.

There are two more World Cup meetings, in Beijing and London early in 2012, before the World Championships in Melbourne next April.

The London 2012 Games follow in June, with Storey now a major contender for selection.

Storey was born without a left hand and won two Paralympics swimming titles in 1992 before going on to add five more swimming golds and two cycling titles over the years.

Former Paralympic cycling champion Sarah Storey won able-bodied gold as part of Britain's team pursuit trio at the Track World Cup in Cali. - 2

Reda Maher on Twitter @Reda_Maher / Eurosport

Comment 40 - 59 of 59

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  1. Congratulations Sarah.
    The Aussie Hands Foundation Inc­ in Australia will be following you and hope you are­ selected for the 2012 London Olympics. Good Luck
    You­ are an inspiration to many who have a hand­ difference.
    We are so proud of you.
    Members &­ friends of 'Aussie Hands'
    (The Aussie Hands­ Foundation Inc a support group that offers support and­ networking opportunities for children and adults with­ hand differences and is affiliated with UK REACH and­ ATLHA ONLUS, Milan Italy)

    From Liz S, on Tue 6 Dec 8:45

  2. I am just gobsmacked beyond belief at some of the­ comments here. I really cannot believe that people­ think that your hands don;t make much of a difference­ when riding a bike!! They're nearly as important as­ your legs!! Go get a bike and try accelerate and­ maintain a high speed without using your hands...Well­ done Sarah!! Truly inspiring!!

    From stesalmon73, on Sun 4 Dec 14:21

  3. Only John has brought it up on this message board (by­ the way, I am a contracted staffer with seven years­ experience, not a 'work-experience' kid), but­ on other media I am being criticised for saying that­ Sarah has "moved up" to a Team GB squad­ member from the Paralympic team. This was not intended­ to somehow demean Paralympic competition, but to­ emphasise the different level in terms of attainment­ required to compete at this level. In the­ motor-impaired section the differences with are fine -­ a couple of percent in times - but they are clear. So­ it is, in pure competitive terms, a step up.

    From Eurosport Journalists, on Sat 3 Dec 22:19

  4. Many Congratulations ! You done us proud young Lady.­ Best of luck in all that you do. x

    From Jenny, on Sat 3 Dec 10:04
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Darwin

    I'm disabled and I strongly object to­ people like us being used as emotional blackmai, in a­ pathetic attempt to justify the obscene amounts of­ taxpayers money being squandered on the Olympics­ fiasco.

    From Cheggo, on Sat 3 Dec 9:19

  6. ps .. 1 of the toughest sports in the world - lung­ bursting !

    From phil, on Sat 3 Dec 7:51

  7. brilliant!!! ... Disability ??...I just see people -­ sports competitors, well done girl ! Champion stuff

    From phil, on Sat 3 Dec 7:50

  8. Fantastic ! Well Done, Sarah, you deserve it. You­ obviously must live by the words of blind adventurer­ Miles Hilton-Barber “the only limits in our lives are­ those we accept ourselves".

    From Win, on Sat 3 Dec 7:36

  9. So Proud of you Sarah!! You go girl and get to the­ olympics and win gold !!!

    From Rachel, on Sat 3 Dec 6:31

  10. Instead of patronising her for winning a gold despite­ having a 'disability', how about just­ congratulating her for the achievement of winning gold?­ Disability or not. Well done Sarah. Nobody wins­ gold medals without working bloody hard for it.

    From Ice13, on Sat 3 Dec 6:26

  11. We don't seem to have much to celebrate in this­ country at the moment but this achievement really warms­ the cockles of the heart. A very well deserved...­ "Well done!"

    From DAVID, on Sat 3 Dec 6:21

  12. All this time disabled athletes have been pidgeon-holed­ and to compete against able-bodied athletes has been­ unheard of. It's nice to see disabled people­ competing against able-bodied athletes. Whatever must­ the able-bodied athletes be thinking - that a disabled­ athlete is better than them - that the disabled athlete­ must have some advantage.

    From kat_1taylor, on Sat 3 Dec 5:49

  13. she a cracker welldone

    From hotshot, on Sat 3 Dec 4:19

  14. H at 48 - you're the one making the dumb statement.­ It's been all over the news for days that THIS­ YEAR'S Sports Personality Of The Year features no­ women as finalists. You're really­ dumb.................and a bit stupid!

    From eddieir1001, on Sat 3 Dec 4:16

  15. Mathew at 12 check things out before making dumb­ comments, I believe one of the more famous women sports­ personalities of the year was a young PRINCESS ANNE who­ was later followed by someone called Zara Phillips, and­ a few other unknowns like Paula Radcliff hope they­ don't read your dumb statement.

    From H, on Sat 3 Dec 3:54

  16. She's fantastic, It shows hard work and dedication­ pays off. A real star. Well Done

    From stephen.smith383, on Sat 3 Dec 3:42
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Sorry but I don't think that's anything­ special, born without a left hand? how does that have a­ huge impact on most sports? it's not like she had 1­ fake leg and won gold doing the 100m sprint, she misses­ a left hand and won a gold medal riding a bike which­ you can do without any hands letalone 1 real hand and a­ fake 1, nothing special here but congratulations on the­ gold regardless.

    From Boris., on Sat 3 Dec 3:38

  18. Cheggo , drop dead.

    I have a disabled daughter with a­ similar issue , I showed her this to give her­ inspiration , she is 9 and also swims like a fish ,­ perhaps in the future she will cycle.

    From Darwin, on Sat 3 Dec 3:36
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Yaaaawn

    From Cheggo, on Sat 3 Dec 3:05

  20. John - Well they are "inferior" to the main­ Olympics. Hence why the Olympics is such a bigger­ event, and why she chose to compete in them. In fact,­ that is the very reason for it's existence - so the­ disabled can have a fair chance at winning by playing­ against those in a similar situation - just like with­ under XX years football etc.

    Though of course, it­ doesn't mean their achievements are any less valued­ or important. In fact, I think they are far more­ impressive in a lot of cases. And although I think­ Storey should be very, very proud of her achievement -­ as should the country - I struggle to see how having a­ fake hand really prevents you from being in the­ able-bodied competition anyway. How does it really­ affect her cycling?

    From callum, on Sat 3 Dec 2:55
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