Tokyo Paralympics: Lee Pearson wins 12th gold as GB enjoy cycling and swimming success

[Animous]

Lee Pearson won his 12th Paralympic title as Great Britain took five golds across four sports on day two of the Tokyo Paralympics.

The Para-equestrian rider, who made his debut at Sydney 2000, and his horse Breezer, claimed victory in the Grade II individual test with team-mate Georgia Wilson third.

There was also joy for a trio of Paralympic debutants - cyclist Jaco van Gass and swimmers Tully Kearney and Maisie Summers-Newton, who all set world records on their way to winning gold medals.

And wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver, a silver medallist in Rio, went one better this time in the epee A final.

Van Gass, 35, who was injured while serving with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan in 2009, beat team-mate Fin Graham in the C3 3,000m individual pursuit final.

Both riders had smashed the world record in qualifying for the final, with Graham knocking more than six seconds off the previous mark before Van Gass lowered it by another two seconds to three minutes 17.593 seconds.

Injured in Afghanistan, now Paralympic champion - Van Gass' story

Kearney, who had finished a heart-breaking second in Wednesday's S5 200m freestyle final, bounced back brilliantly to take gold in the 100m freestyle while Summers-Newton beat a world-class field, including defending champion Ellie Simmonds, in the SM6 200m individual medley.

Gilliver got revenge on China's Sun Gang, who beat him in the final in Rio, in the last four before a 15-9 win over Russian Paralympic Committee athlete Maxim Shaburov in the decider.

There were also silvers for cyclists Jody Cundy (C4-5 1000m time trial), tandem pair Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott (B 1000m time trial) and Para-equestrian rider Sophie Wells (grade V individual test). Wheelchair fencer Dimitri Coutya won bronze in the men's epee B event.

Tokyo Paralympics day-by-day guide

Your guide to Paralympic classification

'Emotional' Pearson continues dominance

Lee Pearson was knighted in 2017

Pearson, whose gold sees him overtake Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and former swimmer Dave Roberts to sit third in the British all-time list, has been a mainstay of the British team since he made his international debut in 1999.

Pearson on his proudest moment

He was born with the condition arthrogryposis, which meant the muscles in his arms and legs grew as scar tissue in the womb.

The 47-year-old was visibly moved after his performance, which scored him 76.265%, with Austrian rival Pepo Puch on 73.441 and Wilson impressing on her debut on 72.765.

"I'm as emotional as the first - probably more," he told Channel 4. "I don't think I've cried immediately after saluting at the end of a test before now.

"I saw Breezer as a day-old in my parents' field and to be here with him as a home-bred and win a gold medal - it's literally fairy-tale stuff.

"He's very highly bred and he was getting tied up and tense because he knew it was a special day. He didn't let me down, but he stayed with me and I'm really proud of him.

"The judges love him now and I'm going to carry on taking him up the levels with able-bodied too. I just feel so lucky I've got horses in my life. They give me their legs, I'm useless at dancing in real life but we can dance here."

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