A joyous Emily Petricola has defended her own world record to successfully retain her 3,000m individual pursuit Paralympic gold medal.
On a triumphant Friday afternoon for Australia at Paris’s National Velodrome, Petricola’s medal was supplemented by a gold for Queenslander Korey Boddington in C4-5 1,000m time trial and Jessica Gallagher clinched silver in the women’s B 1,000m time trial.
Assisted by pilot Caitlin Ward, the second-place finish ensured Gallagher now has four Paralympic medals, two each in both summer and winter Games.
“I was selected for five Paralympics in eight years at the start of my career and then had an eight-year hiatus,” Gallagher said.
“So for us to deliver on that performance means the world to me.”
But Petricola stole the show, surging to her second-straight gold just 15 minutes after Boddington had finished in first place in his first-ever Paralympic race.
Petricola had teased she was in a mood to medal earlier in the day when she set a world record of 3:35.856 in her qualifying trial.
And the 44-year-old came good on her promise, seeing off New Zealand’s Anna Taylor before being mobbed by family and friends.
“It’s been a really tough last eight weeks having an MS [multiple sclerosis] flare so this was no guarantee for me,” Petricola said.
“This one has caused a lot of muscle spasm through my back, my left leg and then into my neck… my abdominal area — the whole thing is gone.
“We’ve had to manage my load just to make sure my leg turns over on the bike and I just kept telling myself that my body is trained for this, to go on autopilot and get it done.
“I feel so incredibly proud … I sang [the anthem] completely out of tune but I refuse to apologise for that.”
Petricola’s win marked a remaulrkable quarter-hour period for Australia which was kicked off by Boddington zipping to gold.
Like Petricola, Boddington had topped the table in qualifying and he, too, was able to translate that into his maiden medal.
“If I worked as hard as I’m working now, I’d probably have been very good at school,” Boddington quipped.
“This is unbelievable … I want to tell kids out there to go for their dreams and to fight for them. You’ve got to shoot for the stars.”
