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Sarah Storey extends British record with 19th Paralympic gold

Sarah Storey picked up her 19th Paralympic gold medal on Friday, winning the women's C4-5 road race to extend her record as the most successful British Paralympian.

It is Storey's second gold at the Paris Games, after winning the women's C5 time trial on Wednesday.

Storey beat France's Heidi Gaugain, who also took silver on Wednesday, in a photo-finish at the end of the 71-km race.

"I knew Heidi would want to take it to the line as she's a fast sprinter," Storey said after the race. "She got a little gap -- she's 19 at the end of the day -- but I just went for it.

"I knew my strength was holding high power for a long time. And when you've done an acceleration like she had, that's hard for more than a kilometre. I knew that if I kept her within my sights -- she was the carrot -- and reeled her in, I'd still have a kick for the finish."

The 46-year-old now has 14 Paralympic golds in cycling, with the other five won in swimming. She overtook swimmer Mike Kenny's British record of 16 Paralympic golds in 2021.

Storey's total Paralympic medal tally stands at 30, with 16 won in swimming between 1992-2004.

When asked how she felt at winning another gold medal, Storey said: "It's like putting together jigsaws for every Paralympic cycle and every piece is curated back home, driving round in a motorhome, going to different races, so a massive thanks to local organisers who put on the races and put the jigsaw together."