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Begum Sarah Story She is ready for all eventualities as she makes her first appearance at the Games in Paris as Britain’s greatest ever athlete. Paralympians,
The 46-year-old cyclist is renowned for her meticulous planning and will become the first athlete to represent GB at the age of nine ParalympicsShe started out as a schoolgirl swimmer in 1992 in Barcelona.
Story took His career total of gold medals rises to 17 – Surpassed the achievements of former swimmer Mike Kenny with three wins in Tokyo.
The last of these won a deserted speedway circuit in the rain-soaked foothills of Mount Fuji – a stark contrast to the thunderous roar for success by the sun-soaked home crowd at London 2012.
Given her 32 years of extensive Paralympic experience, Storey, a mother of two, will have no fear He will have to cope with whatever the French capital throws at him.
“I’ve competed internationally every year, even the years when I had children,” he told the PA news agency.
He said, “I am ready for all situations and this is what Tokyo has taught everyone.
“In London, when everyone asked, ‘How are you going to prepare to compete in front of so many people?’, I said, ‘I’m also preparing to compete in an empty room’ – and then this happened (in Tokyo).
“And it’s the same with the weather, you have to be prepared for every situation. I’ve done a lot of wet rides – I do live in the Peak District after all!
“Every day is planned. There are plans A, B and C if something goes wrong with health or weather or whatever.”
Storey has worked hard to return to top form following a devastating crash that forced her to miss the 2022 Para Cycling Road World Championships and had a long-term impact on her performance.
He maintains a 100 per cent Games record on the bike across 12 races, and also has the added incentive of defending his C5 time trial and C4-5 road race titles. Louisa, 11, and Charlie, 6, watched.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last three years,” Story said.
“When the family couldn’t come to Tokyo and Charlie said, ‘Well, Mom, you’ll have to do another show so I can watch’, I said, ‘Oof, OK’.
“Louisa isn’t sure if she remembers Rio, she’s obviously seen lots of pictures.
“They came with me (to Paris) in the May half year when I went to inspect the courses, so they understood what was happening.”
Story aims to race again as soon as he returns from France and has not ruled out the possibility of competing in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I always take the Games as a sport and I knew I wanted to compete in the World Championships in Zurich immediately after the Games,” she said.
“I never think beyond, ‘Is this the last competition or not?’ But this is not the last competition.”
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