Cheshire wheelchair racer Andrew Small wins gold at Tokyo Paralympics

300821 Andrew Small PA-62068967
Andrew Small Credit: PA

Cheshire wheelchair racer Andrew Small has grabbed Paralympic gold for Great Britain after blitzing his rivals in the men's T33 100m final.

Small powered to victory in a time of 17.73 seconds on day six of the Games after flying out of the blocks at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

Andrew Small celebrates winning the Men's 100 metres - T33 Final at the Olympic Stadium during day six of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Game

The blistering start proved crucial as defending champion Ahmad Almutairi of Kuwait threatened to snatch victory by closing the sizeable gap, only to cross the line a tenth of a second behind.

Small's success was an upgrade on the bronze he won behind Almutairi at Rio 2016, with third place on the podium on this occasion going to his GB team-mate Harri Jenkins in a season's best 18.55secs.

"I normally have a Garfield brought to me where 'I hate Mondays', so I may have to change that now."

Victory for Small brought ParalympicsGB's 24th gold of the Games.

Another Briton, James Freeman, finished fourth of the five racers in 19.69secs.