Summer Olympics 2012 London

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Australia's Grant Patterson removes his swimming cap after the Men's 50m Freestyle S4 heat

 

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Jerry Shields of the USA competes in the Men's Individual Compound W1 classification ranking round match

 

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Justyna Kozdryk of Poland performs during the women's -44kg Powerlifting competition

 

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Great Britain's Claire Cashmore swims during the Women's 100m Butterfly S9 heat at the Aquatics Centre

 

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Thailand's Somchai Doungkaew adjusts his goggles before the Men's 50m Breaststroke SB2 Final

 

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Brazil's Diego Romario Marques (L) and Jose Roberto Ferreira de Oliveira (R) celebrate after beating Finland 6-5 in their Goalball preliminary round match

 

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China's Jiang Fuying prepares to compete in the women's S6 100m backstroke swimming heats

 

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Vladimir Balynetc of Russia celebrates after clinching silver in the Men's 48kg Powerlifting

 

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Russia's Aleksei Lyzhikhin starts the Men's 50m Freestyle S4 heat

 

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Launch: Arnulfo Castorena of Mexico dives in the Men's 50m Breaststroke - SB2 heat

 

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Flex: China's Wei Yanpeng competes in the men's 100m Butterfly S8 heat

 

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Hannah Cockroft decimated the field to win Great Britain's first gold of the Paralympics track and field competition in London's 2012 Olympic Stadium.

The wheelchair athlete from Halifax burst clear after 60 metres to take the T34 100m title in a new Paralympic record time of 18.05 seconds.

"I've been waiting four years for that," said the 20-year-old is also racing in the 200m on Thursday.

"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I crossed the finish line."

The Yorkshire athlete, who set a new 100m world record of 17.60 in Switzerland this year, said she was confident of living up to her billing as the odds-on favourite.

"Looking at the times in the heats and their personal bests, I was miles ahead of them and I knew deep down I could do it, but it's what happens on the day," she added.

"It's a bit surreal when you're dreaming about if for so long and then it just kind of happens, in 18 seconds.

 

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Paralympics 2012: Discus medals given to wrong throwers

A scoring system error led to the wrong medals being awarded in the women's combined F35/36-class discus event of the 2012 Paralympics.

Ukraine's Mariia Pomazan originally won gold and Wu Qing of China silver, but the pair have swapped places in the new revised medal table.

Bronze medallist Bao Jiongyu of China has been demoted to fifth place, with Australia's Katherine Proudfoot up to third from fifth.

The new medal ceremony is on Saturday.

In total, seven of the top 10 and all of the top five positions were changed.

Paralympic organisers said in a statement: "All combined class field events use a points scoring system where final positions are determined by points rather than distance.

"In today's women's combined class discus event [F35/36], incorrect medals were awarded following the use of inaccurate results data. We sincerely apologise to the athletes affected.

"The inaccurate data also affected the men's shot put F42/44, although the final medal placing was not impacted.

"A new medal ceremony will be held during tomorrow [Saturday] morning's athletics session."

 

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Japanese disabled sprinter Maya Nakanishi poses in this handout picture featured in her calendar in Tokyo, on February 7, 2012. Nakanishi, who will compete in the 2012 London Paralympic Games, published a calendar featuring her posing semi-nude with her prosthetic leg to help fund her training and trip to the Games. Nakanishi lost her right leg below the knee in a workplace accident when she was 21, then became a sprinter with her prosthetic limb. She is the Asian record holder in the T44 (one leg amputated below the knee) 200 meter and long jump and she was the first Japanese woman to be at the start line in a 100 meter final race in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Olympics. But with little financial assistance, she made up her mind to pose herself partially nude in her calendar to fund her trip to compete in London.

 

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Paralympic athletes perform a sitting volleyball demonstration during the Team USA Road to London 100 Days Out Celebration in Times Square in New York City, on April 18, 2012.

 

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Britain's wheelchair basketball players, Sarah Grady, Judith Hamer, Helen Turner and Louise Sugden practice shooting baskets under the dome in St Paul's Cathedral in London, on August 24, 2012 ahead of the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games

 

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Rower Oksana Masters and her rowing partner Rob Jones from United States carry their oars after a training session ahead of the 2012 Paralympics Olympics in Eton Dorney, near Windsor, England, on August 29, 2012.

 

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Willy Martinez, 27, a member of the Venezuelan Paralympics team, lifts weights during training in Caracas, on April 24, 2012. Martinez was a high-ranked Venezuelan boxer at the age of 18 when an enraged relative cut off his hand with a machete. Now he is training to qualify as a sprinter for the London Paralympics.

 

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Swimmer Christoph Burkard from Germany leaves the swimming pool after his training session at the Aquatic Center ahead of the 2012 Paralympics in London, on August 28, 2012. The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games will be held at London's Olympic Park on Wednesday, August 29.

 

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Brazilian Paralympic athlete Vanderson Silva lifts a weight during his training for the 2012 London Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on August 3, 2012. Silva, a discus thrower, lost his left leg after a train accident 14 years ago.