Peacock sharpens blades for 100m showdown

Jonnie Peacock blitzes his rivals in equalling the 100m Paralympic record last night (Getty Images)

Into the battle of the Blade Runners, enter the British musketeer. While Oscar Pistorius was getting all cut up about the size of Alan Oliveira's blades in the T44 200m final last Sunday, Jonnie Peacock was quietly sharpening his for what always promised to be the showpiece event on the track at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Going into the final tonight, the 19-year-old from Cambridge appears to have a cutting edge. Running in the opening heat last night, Peacock not only left Oliveira and the world champion Jerome Singleton of the United States trailing helplessly in his wake but also equalled the Paralympic record, clocking 11.08sec. Running in the second heat, Pistorius managed to get a victory on the board, prevailing in 11.18sec. It was the South African's fastest 100m time of the season but the chances are he will be forced to relinquish a second of three Beijing titles when it comes to the final at 9.16pm today.

Peacock, right, clocked a T44 single amputee world record of 10.85sec in May and the training partner of Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford looked the classiest act last night. Singleton was the runner-up in 11.46sec. Oliveira, third in 11.56sec, only made it to the final as one of the fastest losers.

"It was nuts when they called my name," Peacock said. "My mates and family were by the start line and it relaxed me. I expected the guys to push me more, to be honest. I didn't think I'd win by so much, so I'm happy."

The British track-and-field medal count continued to rise last night. It is now up to 18, one more than the tally from Beijing, with four days of competition left. Bethany Woodward claimed silver in the T37 200m. The 19-year-old from Ferndown in Dorset clocked 29.65sec as runner-up to Johanna Benson of Namibia. David Devine produced a storming finish to take a bronze from the T12 800m final to match the one he'd gained from the 1500m the night before. The Liverpool Harrier edged Lazaro Rashid of Cuba out of third place by 0.04sec, clocking 1min 58.76sec.

David Weir produced another masterful display in the T54 800m heats, winning by 1.16sec in 1min 37.09sec as the fastest qualifier for tonight's final. A third gold clearly beckons for Weir, who also has the marathon to come on Sunday. "I'm a bit tired today but I've got through," he said. "I just need to eat a bit more food today and I should be all right for the final."