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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jonathan Spencer

ParalympicsGB win first ever gold in wheelchair rugby with victory over USA in Tokyo

Great Britain's wheelchair rugby team made history in Tokyo as they claimed their first ever gold medal in the event following a hard-fought win over USA.

ParalympicsGB edged past their American rivals 54-49 at the Yoyogi National Stadium, leading to wild scenes following the final whistle on Sunday night.

There were tears on court afterwards after dreams were realised - with ParalympicsGB clinching their sixth gold medal on a spectacular day in Tokyo.

The GB team were led by Jim Roberts throughout the final, having scored 24 tries against the three-time champions.

And after the final whistle, Roberts hailed his team-mates after being asked whether he still intends for this to be his final ever Paralympics.

ParalympicsGB celebrate after clinching the historic gold medal in the wheelchair rugby event (REUTERS)

"I'm watching my team get applauded off the court, what an amazing shift that was. I'm so happy for them and that really was one to remember", Roberts told Channel 4.

“We knew that there would be some amazing teams here – the USA are a class act and I know some guys on that team very, very well – it was just amazing to meet them in the final.

"They’ve always beaten us at major tournaments, so it was nice to get one over them!

"We've had so much support from back home, it's been amazing and our coach as well who couldn't travel with us because he got COVID.

"He was feeding us information all of the time so we're glad that he was able to be on this journey with us [in that way]."

Wheelchair rugby had made its full debut as a medal event back in Sydney 2000 after being a demonstration sport at the Atlanta Games four years prior.

A milestone moment for the country in the mixed gender game came following previous bests of bronze-medal match defeats in 1996, 2004 and 2008.

But now they have surpassed those successes, clinching the historic gold on Sunday night - memories that will live forever among the GB squad.

There were emotional scenes after ParalympicsGB won their first ever wheelchair rugby gold medal (Getty Images)

ParalympicsGB had guaranteed a place on the podium on Saturday courtesy of a 55-49 win over hosts Japan.

Roberts, who finished as top scorer, has consistently performed throughout the campaign for ParalympicsGB and once again led from the front in the showpiece final.

Stuart Robinson and Aaron Phipps also chipped in with 14 and 11 scores respectively to keep the scoreboard ticking over and ultimately ensure an unprecedented achievement.

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