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DOHA — Australia beat Vietnam 1-0 on Tuesday to become the first AFC nation to win 10 successive World Cup qualifiers while Japan edged China by the same score to rebound after a shock defeat to Oman last week.

Australia’s victory, courtesy of Rhyan Grant’s first-half winner, left the Socceroos on two wins from two in Group B.

Played behind closed doors at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi because of Covid-19 restrictions, Australia struggled to get past Vietnam’s disciplined defence before Grant’s header in the 43rd minute from an Ajdin Hrustic cross broke the deadlock.

It was Grant’s first international goal and ended Vietnam’s 17-match unbeaten streak at home. 

Australia had beaten China 3-0 in Doha last week and Tuesday’s victory means they have a perfect 10 wins from 10 matches starting with the first round of qualifying.

Japan also bagged three points against China on Tuesday to revive its campaign after the lost 1-0 to Oman in the first match of the final round of qualifying.

Despite the narrow margin of victory, Japan was clearly the dominant side at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Efforts by Yuya Osaka and Spain-based Takefusa Kubo hit the post in the first half but China’s luck ran out in the 40th minute.

Junya Ito produced a brilliant pass after getting past Wang Shenchao and Osako made amends for his earlier miss with a fine volley.

In a late match Iran eased to a 3-0 win over Iraq at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Iran struck through Alireza Jahanbaksh in the second minute before Mehdi Taremi and Ali Gholizadeh scored in the second half to put the outcome beyond doubt.

Saudi Arabia bidding for a second successive appearance at the finals grabbed its second victory, edging out Oman 1-0 in Muscat with Saleh Al Shehri’s 42nd minute strike proving decisive.

Both teams were fresh from their opening wins but failed to come up with an inspired display at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium.

However, the Saudis, who beat Vietnam last week, went ahead in spectacular fashion.

Fahad Al Muwallad deftly backheeled Salman Faraj’s lofted pass onto Shehri who blasted a low shot past Oman goalkeeper Faiyz Al Rusheidi.

Earlier on Tuesday, 2002 World Cup semifinalists South Korea got its qualifying campaign back on track by beating Lebanon 1-0 in Suwon.

Aiming for a 10th successive appearance at football’s showpiece, South Korea needed to rebound from an opening goalless draw against Iraq last week.

But just hours before the match, the Korea Football Association announced star player Son Heung-min was out with a calf injury.

The first half ended goalless, mostly thanks to Lebanese goalkeeper Mostafa Matar.

But on the hour mark, Kwon Chang-hoon — who had come on just two minutes earlier — exploited space in the box to put the hosts ahead.

“I’m happy to have scored a goal for the national team, and honoured to have done it at the Big Bird,” Kwon told reporters, referring to the Suwon World Cup Stadium, where his club is based.

There are two groups of six nations in the final round of Asian qualifiers.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the World Cup, and the third-placed sides will face off for a chance to enter the intercontinental play-off.

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic struggled, but advanced within three matches of completing the first men’s singles calendar-year Grand Slam in 52 years on Monday by outlasting American Jenson Brooksby at the US Open.

World No. 1 Djokovic rallied past 99th-ranked Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to book a quarter-final encounter with Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of July’s Wimbledon final.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Djokovic said. “He loves the big stage. Big serve, big game overall. I know what to expect. Going to try to prepare a good game plan and hope for the best.”

The 34-year-old Serbian star would become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to sweep all four major titles in the same year by capturing his fourth career US Open crown.

Djokovic also seeks a men’s singles record 21st Slam trophy, which would boost him one ahead of “Big Three” rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both absent with injuries.

An epic shocker seemed possible when Brooksby, a 20-year-old American wildcard who hadn’t played Djokovic before, broke in the second and sixth games and fired a service winner to claim the first set in 29 minutes.

“He just played a perfect first set,” Djokovic said. “I could do nothing. I was still finding my footing on the court.

“I must say it wasn’t a great start. Jenson was pumped. He had a clear game plan. He was executing his shots tremendously. I was on my back foot. He was reading the play well for a set and a half.”

Djokovic broke in the second game of the second set, but was broken in a electrifying 20-minute fifth game, netting a backhand on Brooksby’s sixth break chance.

“Definitely I had confidence I could beat him,” Brooksby said.

But Djokovic broke back in the sixth game, ripping a cross-court forehand winner for a 4-2 lead, and held from there to take the 68-minute set.

“After that, I started hitting more cleanly and through the court,” said Djokovic. “Whenever I needed a serve I found my spot well. It was physical, a lot of exhausting rallies.”

In all, Djokovic won 15 of the last 20 games, rolling to victory in the stamina test after two hours and 59 minutes.

Berrettini advanced by defeating 144th-ranked German qualifier Oscar Otte 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Tokyo Olympic champions Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic advanced with straight-set triumphs, as did British 18-year-old qualifier Emma Raducanu.

German fourth seed Zverev stretched his win streak to 15 matches by beating Italian 13th seed Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).

Swiss 11th seed Bencic eliminated Polish seventh seed Iga Swiatek, last year’s French Open champion, 7-6 (14/12), 6-3.

And 150th-ranked Raducanu ripped 43rd-ranked American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes.

Raducanu is only the third qualifier to reach the US Open women’s quarter-finals after Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in 2017 and American Barbara Gerken in 1981.

Zverev, last year’s US Open runner-up, reached his seventh career Slam quarter-final and fourth in the past five Slams.

He saved two set points on his serve in the 12th game of the third set and three more in the tie-breaker before Sinner netted a forehand to end matters after two hours and 25 minutes.

He will next face 46th-ranked Lloyd Harris of South Africa, who eliminated US 22nd seed Reilly Opelka 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

Swiatek beat Bencic in their only prior meeting in February’s Adelaide final, but the Swiss hasn’t dropped a set.

Bencic next plays Raducanu, a US Open debutant who hasn’t dropped a set in four matches.

“Belinda is a great player who is in great form,” Raducanu said. “I’m going to just have to bring it.”

Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon runner-up, beat Russian 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4.

She next faces Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari, who ousted 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6), 6-3

The Canadian sixth seed was limping with a left thigh injury in the final games before suffering her first US Open loss.

PARIS — Italy broke the world record for the longest unbeaten run in international football with a goalless draw at Switzerland on Sunday, while Germany got their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track by thrashing Armenia 6-0.

European champions Italy should have taken all three points, but Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved Jorginho’s second-half penalty.

“The ball didn’t want to go into the goal,” Italian coach Roberto Mancini told RAI.

“We had too many chances today not to win the match... We have to be more clinical and more precise.”

The draw, however, extended Mancini’s side’s unbeaten run to 36 matches, breaking the previous mark they shared with Brazil and Spain.

The Azzurri remain top of Group C, four points above Switzerland who have two games in hand.

Italy are bidding to banish the memories of their shock failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The group winners automatically reach next year’s finals in Qatar, with the runners-up heading into the play-offs.

The Germans brushed off the cobwebs of their underwhelming 2-0 win over Liechtenstein in Hansi Flick’s first match in charge by thrashing previous leaders Armenia to go top of Group J.

Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry scored twice in the first 15 minutes.

Timo Werner set up Marco Reus, who was recalled by Flick, to put the result beyond doubt before netting himself to complete a dominant opening 45 minutes.

The home crowd in Stuttgart were given a fifth goal to cheer by Jonas Hofmann early in the second period, before the four-time world champions added further gloss in added time through 19-year-old debutant Karim Adeyemi.

They now lead Armenia by two points, with Romania a point further back after beating Liechtenstein 2-0.

A shock home loss to North Macedonia earlier this year had put Germany’s qualification in danger.

England cruise at Wembley

A much-changed England laboured for long periods before seeing off Andorra 4-0 in its first match at Wembley since its Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy on penalties.

Jesse Lingard, who missed out on Gareth Southgate’s Euro squad, put the hosts ahead in the 18th minute, but a second goal did not arrive until substitute Harry Kane’s penalty 18 minutes from time.

England, for whom Southgate made 11 changes, did enjoy a late goal spree as Lingard netted a second and Bukayo Saka marked his birthday by finding the net.

That goal brought loud cheers from the crowd at Wembley — where Saka missed the decisive penalty in the shootout against the Italians in July.

“He [Saka] got a fabulous reception, before and during the game,” Southgate told ITV. “You can see how popular he is with the rest of the team as well.”

England has won all five of its matches in Group I and visit Poland, which it leads by five points, on Wednesday.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Adam Buksa grabbed a hat-trick as the second-placed Poles hammered San Marino 7-1.

Spain, who are in danger of not qualifying automatically, thrashed Georgia 4-0 in Badajoz.

First-half goals from Jose Gaya, Carlos Soler and Ferran Torres ensured they would bounce back from their loss to Sweden with a win.

Pablo Sarabia also netted after half-time, but although the 2010 World Cup winners move top of Group B, they are only one point ahead of Sweden who have two games in hand.

Belgium put one foot in Qatar with an impressive 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic which saw Romelu Lukaku mark his 100th cap with a goal.

The Chelsea striker has now scored 67 goals for his country and 50 in his last 50 appearances.

Eden Hazard and Alexis Saelemaekers also got on the scoresheet as Roberto Martinez’s Belgium stretched six points clear of the Czechs at the top of Group E.

“I know that if I continue and my body follows, it will get better and better,” said Hazard following his first international goal since 2019 after suffering several injuries.

Wales are only a single point further back, having played two fewer matches, after Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick, including an injury-time winner, in a dramatic 3-2 success over Belarus in Kazan.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — Home favourite Max Verstappen snatched the world championship lead from Lewis Hamilton on Sunday as the Red Bull driver produced a scintillating performance to win the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985.

A week after the farcical washout in Belgium, pole-sitter Verstappen controlled the race from the start in bright sunshine at a circuit set in coastal sand dunes at the beach resort of Zandvoort.

His seventh win in 13 races this season turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead over seven-time world champion Hamilton ahead of Monza next weekend.

Hamilton came in second, setting the fastest lap on the final lap to earn a consolation bonus point, with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas a distant third.

“As you can hear already, it’s just incredible,” said Verstappen, roared on by some 70,000 orange-clad fans at a venue where the last winner was Niki Lauda for McLaren 36 years ago.

“Expectations were high going into the weekend, I’m so happy to win here. It’s such an amazing day, the whole crowd, incredible.”

Verstappen, who earned half points for his win over two laps behind the safety car at Spa last Sunday, pulled away on the opening lap here, keeping Hamilton in his rear-view mirror and surging clear.

“It’s definitely a very good day. The start was very important, I think we did that well,” said Verstappen.

“Of course, Mercedes tried to make it difficult for us but we countered them all the time really well. We can be pleased with the whole team performance today.”

A narrow track with punishing deep gravel traps made overtaking difficult, prompting Mercedes to use varying strategies for Hamilton and Bottas to ramp up the pressure on Verstappen.

Hamilton pitted on lap 21, inducing Red Bull to immediately call Verstappen in and leaving Bottas briefly at the head of the field.

Verstappen retook the lead as he burst past Bottas down the final straight on lap 31 to the sound of bellowing roars from the grandstand, but with the Finn having allowed Hamilton to eat away at the gap to the Dutchman.

Verstappen delights home crowd 

Hamilton again came in on lap 40 to switch to medium tyres, needing to pick his way through traffic as he returned to the track.

A nerveless Verstappen continued to frustrate his title rival who feared his tyres wouldn’t last to the finish.

As Verstappen cruised towards the line, igniting jubilant, orange smoke-filled celebrations along the North Sea coast, Hamilton entered the pits for the third time in a successful last-ditch attempt at the quickest lap.

On a day that began with Verstappen showing Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima around the Red Bull garage, Hamilton though simply had no answer to a regal display from the 23-year-old.

“Max did a great job, congratulations to him. I gave it everything, they were just too quick for us,” said Hamilton, again frustrated in his bid to become the first man to win 100 Grands Prix.

“They had that upper edge, and it’s very hard to follow here. The last lap was one of the best parts of the race for me - single lap, low fuel. This is now one of my favourite tracks.”

Pierre Gasly took fourth in his AlphaTauri ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso made up three places on the grid to finish sixth followed by Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.

Sergio Perez, who began the race in the pit lane after an engine change, came home eighth with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris of McLaren completing the top 10. 

AMMAN — The Jordanian delegation to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games ended participation on a high note winning a historic fourth gold medal in the shot put on Saturday and fifth overall medal at the Games.

Ahmad Hindi capped the historic participation setting a new world record and adding a gold on the athletics fields to three previous golds in power lifting by Omar Karadeh (49kg category), Abdul Karim Khattab (88kg), and Jamil Shibli (+107 kg). A fifth medal was secured by veteran table tennis star Khitam Abu Awad’s bronze in wheelchair table tennis.

It was the first time that Jordan won a total of five medals at a single games including an impressive four gold medals after Maha Barghouti’s sole gold at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Since 1984, Jordan has now won a total of 17 medals at the Paralympics (five gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze). This edition, Jordan had qualified 10 athletes in three events: Table tennis, athletics, and weightlifting. The delegation included Hindi in athletics, Beijing and Athens bronze medallist veteran Khitam Abu Awad and Faten Oleimat in table tennis and seven athletes in power lifting: Athens and Beijing silver medallist and Rio bronze medallist Jamil Shibli, Rio silver medallist Omar Karadeh, Beijing bronze medallist Mutaz Juneidi, Rio silver medallist Tharwat Hajjaj, Mohammad Tarbash, Abdul Karim Khattab and Asma Issa.

Coming back home with medals has been the norm for athletes with disabilities who have usually made up for the failure to achieve better results on the Olympic scene, where even qualifying to the world’s premier sports gathering has been a daunting task, and since first participating in 1980, the Kingdom was yet to earn an Olympic medal up until 2016. 

Since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Jordan first won gold when Barghouti won a gold medal at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 (wheelchair table tennis) and then at the 2016 Rio Olympics by Ahmad Abu Ghaush (taekwondo’s 68 kg category). At this year’s Tokyo Games, two medals were won as Jordan’s Saleh Sharabati grabbed a silver (taekwondo — 80kg category), while a second medal, a bronze, was secured by Abdul Rahman Masatfeh (-67 kg category) as Karate made its debut as an Olympic sport.

A look back at past participations demonstrates how sports for the disabled has gained recognition for Jordan through impressive performances on the international scene. Jordan’s medals tally started in 1984, when the late Aida Shishani won bronze in athletics, 200m. At the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, Imad Gharbawi won a silver medal in the discus. Barghouti won gold in Sydney 2000. Two medals were added in Athens 2004 when Shibli won silver in the shot put while the women’s table tennis team (Abu Awad and Fatima Azzam) won bronze. (Abu Awad later on won silver at the 2006 World Championship).

In 2008, Jordan’s athletes competed in table tennis, powerlifting and athletics and ended competition with a record four medals, two silvers and two bronze. Omar Karadeh took silver in power lifting; Shibli, a silver medallist in Athens 2004, added a second silver with a new Paralympic world record in the shot put, Juneidi won a bronze medal in power-lifting and the women’s wheelchair table tennis team won bronze when Fatima Azzam and Khitam Abu Awad repeated their bronze medal win in Athens 2004.

The 2012 Paralympics was the most disappointing participation after the usual winners in table tennis failed to advance past the round of 16 while power lifters were embroiled in controversy amid assault complaints and were returned home.

In Rio 2016, Jordan won three medals in powerlifting (two silvers by Tharwat Hajjaj (86kg category) and Omar Karadeh (49 kg category), while 2004 and 2008 silver medallist Shibli won bronze (+107 kg category). 

Paralympic athletes are grouped in classes defined by the degree of function presented by the disability. Traditionally there are athletes who belong to six different disability groups in the Paralympics Movement: amputee, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries, intellectual disability and a group which includes all those who are not within the aforementioned groups.

TOKYO — Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi, who escaped Kabul after the Taliban takeover, competed in taekwondo's Paralympic debut in Tokyo on Thursday, as cycling queen Sarah Storey became Britain's most successful Paralympian ever.

In the final days before Sunday's closing ceremony, Morocco prepared to take on five-a-side Goliaths Brazil in the semi-finals, and romance was in the air in the Olympic Stadium with a surprise post-race proposal.

Khudadadi, one of two Afghanistan team members evacuated from the country, fought in the Paralympics' first-ever taekwondo match, a day after badminton made its long-awaited first appearance.

She looked stoic ahead of her bout against Uzbekistan's Ziyodakhon Isakova, emerging from behind a curtain to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck".

She lost the match but re-emerged for the evening repechage round, where she gave six-time world champion Viktoriia Marchuk of Ukraine a serious fright before bowing out 48-34.

"Of course I have worries and concerns about the situation in Afghanistan right now — I'm very glad that my opponent managed to come and compete with me," said Marchuk.

Officials have said neither Afghan Paralympian will speak to the press in Tokyo, prioritising the athletes' well-being.

"We've left them be for the last few days, just to focus on competition," International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence said Thursday.

"We'll now start to have conversations about what happens in terms of the closing ceremony, and where they go next."

Meanwhile, British cycling legend Storey returned to the Fuji International Speedway to claim her 17th Paralympic victory in the women's C4-5 road race.

The indomitable 43-year-old's golden hat-trick in Tokyo makes her the most decorated British Paralympian — dethroning swimmer Mike Kenny, who won 16 golds between 1976 to 1988.

"In that last descent I didn't touch my brakes, I just went for it," she said after the race, which went ahead in treacherous cool, wet and foggy conditions.

The victory left her "overwhelmed", she told Channel 4 TV. "I feel like it is happening to someone else... but crossing the line first felt so good."

Paralympic proposal

On Thursday evening, Morocco's five-a-side team takes on Brazil, who have never lost a match at the Paralympics and are targeting their fifth straight gold in Tokyo.

Morocco is the only African team competing in the sport, and defender Imad Berka has said they want to "honour the continent" with a place on the podium.

Japanese wheelchair tennis star Shingo Kunieda reached the finals after trouncing Britain's Gordon Reid 6-3, 6-2 in a thrilling match full of graceful rallies.

Kunieda told public broadcaster NHK that his strategy had been to "hit proactively from the start, without worrying about making mistakes".

It means Japan has a chance of winning two singles golds, with Yui Kamiji due to face Dutch world number one Diede de Groot in the women's final on Friday.

Belgian wheelchair tennis player Joachim Gerard was rushed to hospital on Wednesday after he suddenly felt faint, the country's Olympic Committee said.

The 32-year-old — who competed from Saturday to Monday — has regained consciousness and "first research is pointing towards a cardiac issue", it said in a statement.

The Tokyo Paralympics have so far avoided any major coronavirus clusters, although 275 positive tests have been reported by organisers overall, mostly among Japan-based staff and contractors.

On Thursday they confirmed 13 new cases, all but one of whom live in Japan, as the country battles a surge in infections driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.

In the soggy Olympic Stadium on Thursday, Cape Verde's Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo failed to qualify for the women's T11 200m semifinals — but there was a surprise consolation.

After the race, her guide runner Manuel Antonio Vaz da Veiga got down on one knee and proposed. Video of the magic moment showed both athletes beaming as Semedo accepted.

"Now I have an additional motivation to carry on after the Games, always with him by my side," she said.

TOKYO — Germany’s “Blade Jumper” Markus Rehm leapt to gold at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday but failed to topple his own gargantuan long jump world record.

The 33-year-old set a new record in June of 8.62m, which would have won him gold at every Olympics since 1992, and set his sights on breaking it again in Tokyo.

A leap of 8.18 was his best effort on a cool and drizzly evening, but it was more than enough to give him his third straight title and a fourth Paralympic gold overall.

France’s Dimitri Pavade took silver with a jump of 7.39, while Trenten Merrill of the US claimed bronze on 7.08.

Ahead of Rehm’s appearance, Tunisian Raoua Tlili took her second gold of the Games with a world-record discus throw in the F41 final, beaming and jumping with delight at the result.

She said her victory was the result of an incredible surge of support from her fellow Tunisians back home.

“All Tunisians gave me confidence [by] writing [to] me on Facebook and Instagram, ‘Go Raoua, we expect your gold medals’,” said Tlili, who retained her shot put title on Friday.

There was controversy elsewhere though, with International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence condemning what he described as a wave of social media abuse after a Malaysian shot putter was disqualified and missed out on a gold medal for failing to appear on time.

Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli was allowed to compete in the F20 final on Tuesday night despite being late to the call room.

He finished first, breaking the world record and winning gold. But afterwards a referee and jury both determined he had no good reason for being late.

Zolkefli and two other athletes were late, with Spence saying they argued they had not heard the announcement to gather or that it was in a language they did not understand.

“But all the other athletes were on time,” Spence said.

The gold went instead to Ukraine’s Maksym Koval, who Spence said was now “getting a lot of abuse from Malaysians”.

“People say the Ukrainian stole the gold. No, absolutely not. The Ukrainian had nothing to do with it. It was the athletes that were late,” Spence said.

And the IPC spokesman said it was not the first time Malaysian social media users had directed abuse at the Paralympic body, recalling a wave of attacks after the country was removed from the 2019 swimming championships.

“Hopefully it will pass and die down. But it’s just disappointing again,” Spence said.

‘Makes it all worth it’

On the eighth day of competition in Tokyo, 43 gold medals were up for grabs.

Tokyo’s first gold in boccia, a sport similar to boules that is designed for athletes with neurological impairments that impact motor function, went to Adam Peska of the Czech Republic.

And 90 qualified badminton players are gearing up for play as their sport makes its Paralympics debut, with France’s double world champion Lucas Mazur facing a challenge from India’s Tarun Dhillon in the men’s SL4.

Taekwondo, the other new sport at this Games, kicks off on Thursday.

With almost all spectators banned from the Paralympics over coronavirus fears, there have been few opportunities for athletes to interact with the Japanese public.

But US high jumper Sam Grewe, who won gold in the T63 on Tuesday, shared online a letter handed to him by a Tokyo 2020 employee who described the athlete’s impact on his family.

Grewe’s leg was amputated after he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his knee as a teenager, and in his letter Masaki Kando said his 13-year-son had also been diagnosed with a tumour on his knee and undergone a treatment known as rotationplasty.

“I was very anxious,” Kando admitted about his son’s treatment, saying his family had learned about Grewe on social media.

“High Jump the World Champion! You gave us great courage to my family. We are grateful to you.”

Grewe, who is training to be a doctor to increase the representation of people with disabilities in medicine, said of the letter: “Win or lose, this is what it’s all about.”

“This makes it all worth it,” he added on his Twitter account.

TOKYO — Cycling queen Sarah Storey said she had to conquer a “race of truth” Tuesday as she claimed a British record-equalling 16th Paralympics gold medal.

The 43-year-old, who won 3,000m pursuit gold on the track six days ago, blew away a high-class field in the women’s road C5 time trial at Fuji International Speedway to secure her 27th medal overall.

“It’s the race of truth,” said Storey, who was born without a functioning left hand.

“It’s you against the clock, and trying to pick off your competitors as you see them.

“I love watching time trials, I love putting it all together so when you get to race them and they go so well, they feel amazing.”

It was a repeat of last week’s pursuit one-two for Britain at the velodrome as Crystal Lane-Wright again took the silver.

But she was more than a minute-and-a-half behind Storey’s winning time of 36 min 08.90 sec for her three laps of the eight-kilometre circuit. Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf was third.

“Every corner felt really quick and really smooth,” said Storey. 

“I got caught up in a bit of traffic in certain parts of the course so I just had to navigate my way around that but apart from that it was super quick.”

Storey can win a 17th gold and become the greatest ever British Paralympian on Thursday if she retains her C4-5 road race title for a Tokyo golden hat-trick.

She is tied on 16 golds with swimmer Mike Kenny, who competed from 1976 to 1988.

Storey’s longevity is remarkable. She began her Paralympic career in the swimming pool as a 14-year-old at Barcelona in 1992.

Twenty-nine years later, she looks unassailable having broken her own world record in the pursuit and taken her third successive C5 time trial gold.

‘Exciting opportunity’

“I’ve been preparing for this race for such a long time. The time trial is probably one of my favourite events,” Storey said.

“You bring this enormity to the line with you each time, but that also means that your competitors know how prepared you are and how much work you’ve put in to perfect it.”

After winning five swimming gold medals from 1992 to 2004, Storey switched to cycling at Beijing 2008, and now is on the brink of surpassing Kenny’s record, which has stood for 33 years.

She became Britain’s most successful female Paralympian at London 2012 when she overtook Tanni Grey-Thompson’s 11-gold record.

But she would not be taking for granted winning a third successive road race on Thursday, after taking gold in London 2012 and Rio five years ago.

“Road races are so unpredictable, they really, really are,” she said.

“So Thursday morning I’ll come out and try to have some fun and see which way the cookie crumbles.

“There are so many good girls who have also prepared for the road race so I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes out of that.

“It’s an exciting opportunity. It’s nerve-racking, absolutely — I have as many butterflies as anyone — but it’s also so exciting to take that opportunity and put it all down there on a race day.”