This is for you, grandad! Paralympic cyclist Kadeena Cox dedicates gold to her sick grandfather after smashing her own world record in Tokyo
Cyclist Kadeena Cox led another British medal rush in Tokyo yesterday – then dedicated her gold medal to her grandfather.
The 30-year-old said she had been boosted by a special video message from her grandad Terry.
Miss Cox, who won gold for Britain in the cycling and athletics at Rio 2016, clinched victory in her cycling time trial and smashed her own world record.
She was the first of three British gold medals yesterday, followed by swimmers Hannah Russell and Reece Dunn.
Fellow swimmer Bethany Firth and equestrian Natasha Baker took silver in their events and their teammates took six bronzes, keeping Britain second in the medals table after China.
Cyclist Kadeena Cox led another British medal rush in Tokyo yesterday – then dedicated her gold medal to her grandfather. The 30-year-old said she had been boosted by a special video message from her grandad Terry
Miss Cox, who has multiple sclerosis, said she had watched video messages from her family in Leeds ahead of her performance in the velodrome, which saw her retain her title from Rio.
She said she had been worried about her grandfather Terry Mintus, 73, who had been in hospital with cancer.
She fought back tears as she told Channel 4: 'I got loads of messages from my family. My Grandad's not been well, he's been in and out of hospital while I was here.
'He sent me a message and just said 'Go get the gold'. So this one is for my Grandad. I love him, he's one of my biggest supporters.'
Mr Mintus, a former heavyweight boxer who was ranked third in Britain in the 1970s, has left hospital and is back at home with his wife Pearline.
The grandfather-of-12 told the Daily Mail: 'I'm flabbergasted at what Kadeena has done. Me and her grandmother were taken aback.
Miss Cox, who has multiple sclerosis, said she had watched video messages from her family in Leeds ahead of her performance in the velodrome, which saw her retain her title from Rio. She said she had been worried about her grandfather Terry Mintus, 73, who had been in hospital with cancer
Mr Mintus, a former heavyweight boxer who was ranked third in Britain in the 1970s, has left hospital and is back at home with his wife Pearline
'I'm flabbergasted that she dedicated the gold medal to me.'
Miss Cox competed as a non-disabled athlete until 2014, when she suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
She then battled an eating disorder and a career-threatening knee injury, suffered when she took part in the Channel 4 ski-jumping programme The Jump.
Elsewhere bronze medals were won by Jessica-Jane Applegate and Stephen Clegg in the pool, cyclist and former Paratrooper Jaco Van Gass in his time trial at the velodrome, sprinter Maria Lyle, powerlifter Olivia Broome and the wheelchair fencing team Piers Gilliver, Dimitri Coutya and Oliver Lam-Watson.
Additional reporting by Mark Lister.