Kadeena Cox’s Paralympic Journey Faces Setback After Crash in Time Trial

Kadeena Cox‘s eight-year reign as the C4-5 time trial champion ended unexpectedly at the Paris 2024 Paralympics after she crashed during the final.

The British cyclist, who had qualified second fastest behind Caroline Groot, fell on the first corner of her race following a slow start. Visibly upset, the 33-year-old, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, was assisted from the track by members of the ParalympicsGB team.

Notably, Cox was denied a restart as the fall was judged not to have resulted from a mechanical fault. She continued to receive medical treatment long after the race concluded.

The world record holder was anticipated to secure Great Britain’s first medal of the Games, following her achievements at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Dutch rider Groot ultimately claimed the title, with French competitor Marie Patouillet securing the silver medal and Canada’s Kate O’Brien finishing third.

Cox is scheduled to compete again on Sunday, aiming to defend her title in the C1-5 mixed team sprint alongside teammates Jody Cundy and Jaco van Gass.

Earlier, Daphne Schrager earned Britain’s first podium finish in France by winning silver in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit. The 22-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, joined the British cycling program in 2019 and had not ridden before.

Schrager set a C2 world record of 3:45.133 during qualifying but recorded a time of 3:51.129 in the final, which was just under 10 seconds slower than gold medalist Xiaomei Wang of China.

In her emotional response, Schrager stated, “If you’d asked me a year ago, I would have bitten your arm off to have one,” referring to the medal. She also expressed sympathy for Cox, noting that mishaps can occur in sports.

In addition to Schrager’s achievement, visually impaired cyclist Stephen Bate and his pilot Christopher Latham secured another silver medal for Britain in the B 4000m individual pursuit final, finishing just over two seconds behind the Dutch duo Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos, who set a new world record of 3:55.396.