Great Britain win eight golds on bumper day at Paralympics

Great Britain enjoyed their most successful day yet at the Rio Paralympics as they claimed 21 medals, including eight golds.

Paralympics GB took their overall tally of gold medals to 23 with three in rowing, two each in athletics and cycling and a second in the pool for Bethany Firth. 

Sunday's medal rush began at the Lagoa Stadium in what was a dominant day for British rowers as Rachel Morris, a gold medallist in the cycling time-trial in Beijing eight years ago, won the arms-shoulders single sculls.

Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley also took gold in the double sculls event, while the mixed coxed four team were also victorious on the water.

Tom Aggar capped a fine day for Paralympics GB's rowing team by claiming bronze in the arms-shoulders single sculls.

Meanwhile, Lauren Steadman won silver in the PT4 triathlon event at Copacabana beach. In the women's PT5 event, Alison Patrick and her guide took silver while Melissa Reid and her guide Nicole Walters claimed bronze.

And away from the water, Lora Turnham and Corrine Hall claimed Britain's seventh gold at the velodrome with victory in the tandem three-kilometres pursuit, with British team-mates Sophie Thornhill and pilot Helen Scott taking bronze.

Jon-Allan Butterworth, who was injured while serving in Iraq, then won C1-5 team sprint gold with Jody Cundy and
Louis Rolfe.

"There was no way I was going to come this far for silver," Butterworth said. "I won three silvers in London but I will trade all those in for this one gold. It means more."

Neil Fachie and Peter Mitchell also won a silver medal in the tandem one-kilometre time-trial before GB's swimmers and track-and-field stars caught the mood.

Firth added the 200m freestyle S14 gold to her 100m backstroke title, while her colleagues in the pool collected three silvers and as many bronzes.

Stephanie Millward came in third in the 100m freestyle S8, and the other bronzes went to Josef Craig in the men's equivalent and Amy Marren in the 200m individual medley SM9.

Jessica-Jane Applegate (200m freestyle S14), Rebecca Redfern (100m breaststroke SB13) and Tom Hamer (200m freestyle S14) all took silver.

On the track Richard Whitehead defended his T42 200m title, with team-mate David Henson taking bronze, and Jo Butterfield set a new world record of 22.81m on her way to gold in the F51 club throw.