Para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill takes gold at Commonwealth Games
Yesterday (24 July 2014) para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill was celebrating winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The 18-year-old from Disley, near Stockport in Manchester, and her pilot Helen Scott, beat Scotland's Aileen McGlynn (2-0 in a best of three) in the final of the women's sprint B2 tandem at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Double world champion Sophie who is visually impaired, dominated the final. Earlier, they had qualified fastest in the morning session before seeing off Felicity Johnson and Holly Takos 2-0 in the semi-final.
The teenager came to Glasgow having won two world titles with Wales' Rachel James in April.
She said after her triumph:
"Every gold medal is special but to have it on the platform we have here with the world watching and showing what the world can do is great. We've got another race to come in a couple of days' time but we are looking forward to the kilo now. It's just as special as the world title."
Scott added:
"We qualified first this morning in a PB time so we were happy with that, got some good racing against the Australians and tonight was very hard against the Scottish riders but that's the way we like it, nice and exciting. You want to be qualifying first in races like this and leading all the way through the day."
A total of 22 medals across five Para-sports will be up for grabs at Glasgow 2014, being held from 23 July until 3 August. The Para-sports on show are athletics, powerlifting, swimming, lawn bowls and cycling. It is also the first time in the Games' history that Para-cycling has been included for disabled athletes. All the medals gained in Para-Sports are incorporated into the full medals table for the Games and Para-Sport events are fully integrated into the schedules.
Ahead of the Games, Barry Horne, the English Federation of Disability Sport's Chief Executive said:
“This is a great international stage for the English disabled athletes competing in the Games. For the millions of other disabled people, who may just want to be active in their local area, venue or event, the Games may be one of the motivational catalysts. We hope providers around the country will continue, long after the Games are over, to support disabled people to be active for life.”
