FLASH GASS
Afghan war vet Jaco van Gass wins Britain’s second Paralympic gold after stunning C3 3,000m individual pursuit showing
AFGHAN WAR Veteran Jaco van Gass has won Britain’s second Paralympic gold medal of the Tokyo Games.
The 35-year-old did it in spectacular fashion as he romped home to victory in the men’s C3 3,000m individual pursuit in a time of 3:20.987 at the Izu Velodrome.
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The South African-born cyclist is the second British serviceman or woman injured in Iraq or Afghanistan to win a Paralympic event.
Emulating the inaugural achievements of Jon-Allan Butterworth from the Rio 2016 Games.
Van Gass was the overwhelming favourite to take this crown given he smashed the pre-Games long-standing world record by nine seconds with a time of 3:17.593.
Brit Finlay Graham – who was beaten to silver in the final – had broken the world record in the previous heat but that lasted just a few minutes before Van Gass stepped up for his qualifier.
Van Gass, who got a Sun Millies award after walking to the North Pole with Prince Harry in 2011, lost part of his left arm in 2009.
He said: “It has been a fantastic day.”
Van Gass was a former member of the Parachute Regiment. In 2009, he was completing his second six-month tour of Afghanistan when the helicopter he was flying in came under heavy enemy fire.
He was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, sustaining devastating injuries and losing his left arm.
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Van Gass failed to make selection for the Rio Paralympics five years ago and he told SunSport before these Games that any medal would be among his top-three achievements since that life-changing day in Afghanistan.
Elsewhere on day two of the track, veteran of the saddle Jody Cundy was pipped to the C4-5 1,000m time trial title.
The 42-year-old, who now has 11 Paralympic medals, could do little about the world record set by Spain’s Alfonso Cabello.
In an act of respect and sportsmanship, Cundy defied Covid regulations to hang the gold medal round the neck of Cabello on the podium.
Cundy explained: “I passed him the medal because it felt like I was passing the baton.
“I did the best I could and it’s the biggest performance I’ve ever done, but sometimes you have to stand back in awe.”
Visually-impaired cyclist Aileen McGlynn and pilot Helen Scott won silver in the women’s B 1,000m time trial. Gold went to Larissa Klaassen and pilot Imke Brommer both from Holland.
The pair also won silver at London 2012 but only returned to training together 12 weeks ago.
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Cyclist Jaco Van Gass looks forward to competing in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
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