Paralympics 2021: Dame Sarah Storey wins 16th gold medal

Now she can become Britain’s greatest ever Paralympian later this week

Dame Sarah Storey has won her 16th career Paralympics gold medal with victory in the C5 road time trial race at the Tokyo Games.

The 43-year-old Team GB cycling star topped the podium in the women’s C5 time trial to secure her 27th medal overall.

Britain’s Crystal Lane-Wright finished with the silver medal, and Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf took bronze in the Tuesday race at the Fuji International Speedway in Japan.

Storey powered her around the motorsports track and crossed the line in 36:08.90, comfortably ahead of Lane-Wright who completed the course in 37:40.89.

The win was her second gold medal of the Tokyo Games after she took the women’s C5 3,000m individual pursuit at the Izu Velodrome.

(Getty Images)

Now she can set her sights on becoming the greatest ever British Paralympian.

With the win she tied the 33-year-old British gold medal record of swimmer Mike Kenny, who won his golds between 1976 to 1988, and has a chance to break it on Thursday in the road race.

Storey’s career medal haul includes five golds in the pool in addition to 11 on the bike.

She has won the last three Paralympic time trial titles on the road and won the world title in June by 46 seconds.

“I focus very much on the numbers on the screen and making sure I get the very best out of my legs,” she said before the race.

“Each race is an isolated race although there is obviously an enormous task if you add everything together.

“I have always been taught about following the process and that is very much the case for this race.

arah Storey of Team Great Britain crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the Cycling Road Women's C5 Time Trial on day 7 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Getty Images)

“That is where I am in my happiest place, on the time trial bars, trying to get the very best out of my legs.”

Storey is competing in Japan without the support of her family as COVID-19 restrictions prevent her husband Barney, their eight-year-old daughter Louisa and three-year-old son Charlie from cheering her on in person.

She competes in the C5 category of competition, having been born without a hand.