• London Paralympics 2012

Weir lights up Olympic Stadium with wheelchair gold

David Weir roared to victory at the Olympic Stadium © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Pistorius fumes after Oliveira snatches 200m title
  

David Weir electrified the Olympic Stadium crowd on Sunday evening, claiming gold in the men's T54 5000m final after a thrilling final lap.

Weir was the poster boy of the British Paralympic track team, and he had the crowd reaching volume levels close to those afforded to fellow 5000m athlete Mo Farah as he stormed down the final straight for victory.

The Brit was boxed in with three laps to go, but he managed to sit on the wheel of the leader as he reached the bell. With 200m to go Weir made his move, and he crossed the line to rapturous celebrations around the stadium.

Earlier in the day, Aled Davies ensured Great Britain surpassed their athletics gold medal haul from the Beijing Paralympics as he added discus gold to the bronze medal he won in the shot put. On another medal-laden day for GB, there were also gold medal performances in the pool, the Velodrome and at Eton Dorney, as well as at Greenwich Park.

Welshman Davies threw a European record 46.14m to take the F42 discus crown and secure the hosts' third gold in the Olympic Stadium. Davies was already guaranteed victory after Mehrdad Karam Zadeh could only manage 44.62m with his final effort, but finished with a flourish as he broke the British record to seal the win in style.

"I'm probably the happiest guy on planet," said Davies, who was born with hemi-hemilia. "It was a tough competition, I dug in deep. I'm speechless. This crowd and everything - unbelievable."

Stef Reid won silver in the women's F42/F44 long jump, but Shelly Woods could only finish eighth in the T54 5000m final.

At Eton Dorney, Britain beat rivals Germany in a thrilling race to win gold in the LTA mixed coxed fours. Germany led the way at the halfway stage, but the British quartet of David Smith, James Roe, Naomi Riches and Pam Relph, led by cox Lily van den Broecke, powered past their rivals to win by nearly two seconds.

It had been a disappointing day for Britain in the rowing prior to the mixed fours, with Tom Aggar losing his Paralympic title and five-year unbeaten streak as he finished fourth in the AS men's single sculls, while Nick Beighton and Samantha Scowen also missed out on a medal in the TA mixed double sculls.

In the pool, Jessica-Jane Applegate won GB's third swimming gold medal by touching first in the S14 200m freestyle. The 16-year-old, who has Asperger's syndrome, moved from third to first over the last 50m to win in a Paralympic record time of 2:12.63s. Applegate's triumph adds to those of Ellie Simmonds and Jonathan Fox at the Aquatics Centre.

Aled Davies threw a European record 46.14m © PA Photos

Enlarge

There were further medals for Hannah Russell and James Clegg, who both won bronze in the S12 100m butterfly. Russell had already claimed silver in the 400m freestyle.

The Velodrome, so prolific for GB throughout the summer, threw up a fifth cycling gold of the Games after Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean edged out team-mates Neil Fachie and Barney Storey in the tandem sprint. Victory makes up for the pair's Saturday disappointment, when they were denied a gold medal attempt in the 1km time trial by a mechanical failure.

"Yesterday we blew it; it was not our fault, still we blew it nonetheless," Kappes said. "Today was a chance to demonstrate what we can do and I can't complain."

Medals of different colours also arrived at the Velodrome, with Darren Kenny, Jon-Allan Butterworth and Rik Wadden taking silver in the team sprint, while Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott were third in the team pursuit.

Further golds came in the equestrian competition, where Lee Pearson picked up his 10th Paralympic title as part of the triumphant British team success, before Sophie Christiansen won gold in the individual dressage 1a grade.

Sophie Wells added silver in Grade IV and Deborah Criddle did likewise in the Grade III competition.

Elsewhere, Will Bayley - born with arthrogryposis - claimed silver in the class 7 final of the table tennis competition. Bayley dropped to the floor in tears after losing the final 11-8 4-11 11-5 11-4 to Germany's Jochen Wollmert.

"He is a great champion but I'm disappointed with the way I played. I didn't feel I played my best," Bayley told BBC Sport. "A Paralympic silver medal in table tennis is not an easy thing to achieve and I am proud of myself for that."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.