Cundy rides his road to redemption at Rio Paralympics

BySportsbeat

Published 10/09/2016 at 01:53 GMT

Four years after he 'lost it', Jody Cundy finally 'won it' - the para-cyclist claiming Paralympic gold as his road to Rio proved a true road to redemption.

Eurosport

Image credit: Eurosport

Cundy admits he'll never forgive or forget what happened to him at his home Games, when his x-rated rant at officials, following a faulty start, went viral for all the wrong reasons.

He still thinks that very public meltdown will forever define him but the manner of this win in Brazil - under the most crushing pressure of expectation – may and should just change that.

Cundy already has five Paralympic golds, two as a cyclist and three in swimming, but this one will surely mean the most.

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In London he raged about wasting four years of his life and he admitted, aged 37, that he probably wouldn't have been in Rio had that result been different.

But this time it was not four years wasted.

Cundy - wearing a prosthetic which had been painted to look like a pirate leg, with a treasure map that drew a line from London to Rio - even set a new Paralympic record, covering 1,000m in just 1.02.473.

"It took a lot of energy to get to this point," said Cundy.

"This day has been on my mind for four years, ever since I kicked off in London and started throwing things about.

"I've tried to put the past to the back of head in the last few days but I was so nervous and that really hurt and I'm just glad that's over.

"I'm properly pleased and I'm totally exhausted. To do it on the big stage was important but it would have been nice to win in a personal best."

Schoolgirl swimmer Ellie Robinson, just 15, was left speechless after powering to victory in the women's S6 50 metre butterfly final.

Robinson was inspired to take up the sport by watching four-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds in London, who was just 14 when she won her two breakthrough golds in Beijing eight years ago.

She is now on a collision course with her rival in Saturday's 50m freestyle - and she admits it's a struggle to take it all in.

"I keep looking around to check that I actually won, it's so weird. I gave it everything and max-ed it," she said, after clocking a 35.58-second Paralympic record.

"I put everything I have done in training into that race. It's going to be weird to go back to school as a Paralympic champion.

"Thanks to everyone who has been watching me at school, it's so sweet."

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