The Magnificent Seven for golden GB: Kate cheers them on... and then gives our discus hero his medal
- Mixed coxed fours win gold at Eton Dorney
- Team of David Smith, James Roe and 'blondes in the boat' Naomi Riches and Pam Relph scoop first gold of day 4
- Weshman Aled Davies wins gold in the Men's discus as Paralympics GB passes Beijing athletics haul
- Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean win all-British tandem pursuit final
- Double joy in equestrian with wins for dressage team of Lee Pearson, Sophie Wells, Deborah Criddle and Sophie Christiansen and an individual gold for Christiansen
- Teenager Jessica-Jane Applegate swims to gold in 200m freestyle, while wheelchair racer David Weir caps off golden day with win in 5,000m
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The Duchess of Cambridge gave the royal seal of approval to another glittering day for Britain at the Paralympics yesterday.
In a series of inspiring performances, the GB competitors picked up a further seven golds – one of which was presented by the duchess herself.
The 80,000 packed into the stadium cheered when Kate hung the medal around the neck of discus thrower Aled Davies.
Golden touch: Aled Davies holds the Union Jack aloft (left) while a beaming Duchess of Cambridge presents him with his gold medal in front of a packed Olympic stadium
Making waves: Britain's Pamela Relph, Naomi Riches, Davis Smith, James Roe and Lily van den Broecke celebrate on the podium after they win gold in the rowing LTA mixed coxed four
Earlier Kate cheered with delight as Britain's mixed coxed fours crew - David Smith, James Roe, Naomi Riches, Pam Relph and cox Lily van den Broecke - pulled away from their German rivals and crossed the finish line first at Eton Dorney.
In all, there were medals across athletics, rowing, dressage, table tennis, swimming and cycling yesterday – taking the overall total to 16 golds, 24 silver and 14 bronze. It puts Paralympic GB in second place in the medal table, with 54 in all.
The cyclists led the way with a gold for Anthony Kappes and pilot Craig MacLean after victory in an all-British tandem final. Neil Fachie and pilot Barney Storey took the silver.
With extraordinary grace and control Britain’s Paralympics dressage team won gold for the fifth consecutive Games.
It means Britain has come out on top in every Paralympics since the event was introduced in Atlanta in 1996.
Champions: Victorious British rowing crew members Pamela Relph, Naomi Riches, David Smith, James Roe and Lily Van Den Briecke hug after receiving their their gold medals
We've done it! The Duchess of Cambridge holds her arms aloft as the British crew take Paralympic glory. She watched the rowing at Eton Dorney with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Lady Louise Windsor
Making a point: The Duchess of Cambridge talks to Lady Louise Windsor as they watch the rowing finals at Eton Dorney
By royal appointment: A tracksuited Kate Middleton was the guest of honour at Eton Dorney today
And it was a day of double glory for one of the dressage team when 24-year-old Sophie Christiansen won individual gold in Grade Ia, the category for riders who have the highest level of disability.
Fellow team members Sophie Wells and Deborah Criddle also won silver in their grades adding to the gold won by Natasha Baker and silver won by Lee Pearson on Saturday. The performance confirmed Britain’s dominance in the sport following the gold won by the dressage team at the Olympics.
Christiansen, who has cerebral palsy, did not hear about the team victory until she had completed her individual event because her coaches feared extra pressure could affect her performance.
Afterwards, Christiansen, who took up riding as a form of physiotherapy aged six, said: ‘I’m so pleased, it’s amazing. I’m welling up. All our riders are among the best in the world – we deserve gold because of them and our support staff.’
Rowers Pamela Relph and Naomi Riches shed tears as they celebrate winning gold (left) before being joined by fellow winner Lily Van Den Briecke (right)
Double joy: Sophie Christiansen of celebrates winning gold during the individual dressage, grade Ia, while a team gold was to follow
Laughter: The Duchess of Cambridge (right), Countess of Wessex (left) and Lady Louise Windsor (centre) share a joke during the rowing finals
Cheers: Kate joins Prince Edward and his daughter Lady Louise Windsor in the crowd
Success in the velodrome: Anthony Kappes (left) and Craig Maclean celebrate winning Gold in the Men's Individual B Sprint at the Velodrome
All GB final: Anthony Kappes and Craig Maclean with their gold medals after beating fellow Brits Neil Fachie and Barney Storey who claimed silver
Her individual gold follows a silver in dressage and a gold in freestyle at the 2008 games and a bronze at Athens in 2004.
The sixth gold of the day was claimed by 16-year-old Jessica-Jane Applegate, who has Asperger’s syndrome,when she swam to gold in the women’s 200m freestyle.
The victory was met with joy and relief among a passionate, partisan and royal crowd after a disappointing morning on the water.
The golden day was capped of in the athletics stadium when David Weir confirmed his status as the greatest Great Britain wheelchair athlete ever after clinching his third successive Paralympic Games gold medal with a magnificent victory in the men’s 5,000m TS4.
The 33-year-old Londoner wrapped up a day of sporting drama with a stunning surge of power down the final straight to claim victory ahead of Australia’s Kurt Fearnley.
Proud supporter: Lady Louise Windsor waved a Union flag as she watched the rowing events with her father and the Duchess of Cambridge
Captivated: The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Edward watch one of the thrilling races at Eton Dorney
Royal approval: Sophie, Countess of Wessex took in the action with her son Viscount Severn (left) and applauded at the end of the race as the Duchess of Cambridge punched the air (right)
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘That was a supreme effort . He was in control. Weir just looked amazing and I’ve never seen him celebrate like that. I’m so so pleased for David Weir.'
Golden moment: Gold medallist Jessica-Jane Applegate poses following the medal ceremony for the Women's 200m Freestyle
Back in cycling there was silver too for Rik Waddon, Darren Kenny and Jon-Allan Butterworth in the sprint final and a bronze for Aileen McGlynn and pilot Helen Scott in the women’s individual pursuit.
And there was a silver in the table tennis for Will Bayley, a former school mate of pop singers Adele and Jessie J. He collapsed to the floor in tears after losing his final in four sets.
Elsewhere Stef Reid, 27, who has one leg, won silver in the long jump,
Earlier Tom Aggar lost his Paralympic title and his five-year unbeaten streak as he finished fourth in the AS men's single sculls final.
Nick Beighton and Samantha Scowen, who only came together in the TA mixed double sculls last year, also had to settle for fourth after being edged out of the medals in a tight finish.
Four times Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent cheered the fours across the line. Speaking after their victory, he said: 'I'm so proud of them.
'That was such a tough race but they rode a really nice race, put the Germans under pressure and just moved away at the last bit. It was a really important for British rowing that.'
Relph broke down in tears as the team were presented with their gold medals.
The 22-year-old from Aylebury and her teammate, 29-year-old Riches were nicknamed the two 'blondes in a boat' ahead of the event.
Wrapping up the success: David Weir caps of a stunning day for Great Britian as he storms to gold in the 5,000m
She took up rowing after her career in the Army was cut short by worsening arthritis which had affected her from the age of seven.
She said: 'It was really strange for me when they said I classified for the Paralympics.
'I didn't really feel like I was disabled, because I had probably made the assumption that you need to be in a wheelchair or have had a limb amputated.
'Within a week of being discharged from the military I was qualified as a Paralympic athlete.'
Riches, 29, a partially sighted jewellery designer, said: 'In 2004 GB needed girls in the Paralympics crew and I ticked all the boxes – I was quite tall, I had tried rowing at college and I was visually impaired.
'Four months later I went to my first world championship. I absolutely took to it and got hooked on the sport.'
The Duchess of Cambridge smiles as she presents a gold medal to men's discus champion Aled Davies
Men's discus champion Aled Davies celebrates after having his gold medal presented by the Duchess of Cambridge
The Duchess of Cambridge applauds during the medal ceremony for discus thrower Aled Davies
Britain's Aled Davies celebrates after winning gold in the men's discus
Better than Beijing
Aled Davies took Great Britain's athletics team past their gold medal haul from the Beijing Paralympics on just the third morning of competition at London 2012 with a dominant discus victory.
The 21-year-old, already a bronze medallist in the shot put, added a third British gold with a European record of 46.14 metres to take the F42 crown.
That effort came with his final throw, by which time he was already guaranteed gold. The Welsh athlete received a huge ovation as he walked into the circle before launching the disc to deafening cheers.
He knew it was big straight away and raced off in celebration before draping himself in the Union Flag for a lap of hour.
The Welshman's victory followed triumphs over the first two days by Hannah Cockroft and Richard Whitehead and a silver medal for Stef Reid in the long jump.
The 27-year-old set two new Paralympic records only to be denied gold by a whisker.
Reid, who lost her right leg below the knee in a horrific boating accident aged 15, launched herself out to 5.28m.
It was actually 90cm further than gold medallist Kelly Cartwright, but with points rather than distances determining the final standings in the combined class F42/44 event, she finished agonisingly short.
Reid, a F44 athlete who competed for Canada in Beijing, finished with 1023 points, while her Australian rival, in the F42 class, achieved a world record for 1030 points.
She had her life saved but lost her leg after it was caught in the propeller of a motor boat.
'I was so thankful to have my life saved, but then to find out I was going to be an amputee it made me question - I don't really know if I want to continue on like this,' she said.
'When they pulled me back on the boat, you could see it in everyone's face, this is not good, there is too much blood. I remember lying in the ambulance and eventually they took me to a local clinic.
On her way to silver: Britain's Stef Reid competes in the Women's Long Jump F42/44 Final athletics event during the Paralympic Games
Triumph: Stef lost her right leg below the knee in a horrific boating accident aged 15
'At that point, my parents have come down. I remember being furious with the doctor because he sent my parents in and I knew what he was doing - he sent them in to say goodbye because nobody thought I would ever make it.'
She credited the harsh but realistic words of a nurse in a Toronto hospital with picking her up.
'In the end, it ended up being an amazing gift as a 16-year-old to realise what really mattered in life,' she added.
Jumping to success: Stef Reid during her record breaking jump, which claimed her a silver medal
'It's funny, I was thinking, as I was on there (on the long jump runway) I was terrified.
'But then I thought, 'You know what, I have been up against boat propellers - and I won. This is not going to be that difficult.'
Elsewhere there was disappointment on the track for wheelchair racer Shelly Woods' Paralympic medal hopes in the T54 5,000 metres ended in a sprint finish at the Olympic Stadium this morning.
The Blackpool athlete, who was met with a huge roar from the crowd whenever she hit the front, had to settle for eighth place in 12 minutes 29.26 seconds.
The 26-year-old, who was paralysed from the waist down after falling from a tree aged 11, did not have the strength to live with a 52.59secs last lap as she finished 1.39s behind gold medal winner Edith Wolf of Switzerland.
She told Channel 4: 'The way I was feeling I thought I could shake them up a bit but I didn't have enough. I gave it everything I had so I can't complain. I gave it my best shot.
'I could have raced it another way by hanging back, but I am not the best sprinter.
'I have got quite a few races left, the 1500m and 800m and the marathon at the end.'
Elsewhere, sprinters Graeme Ballard and Ben Rushgrove, who have cerebral palsy, cruised into the T36 100m final, but Tracey Hinton, competing in her sixth Games, went out in the semi-finals of the T11 200m.
More tandem gold for Paralympics GB in the Olympic Velodrome
Tandem gold: Great Britain's Anthony Kappes (right) and his polit Craig Maclean celebrate winning Gold in the Men's Individual B Sprint
Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean won Paralympic gold in a stunning all-British tandem sprint final on the fourth and final day of competition at the London 2012 velodrome.
Kappes, who is partially sighted, and his pilot MacLean claimed a 2-0 win in the best of three final against team-mates Neil Fachie and his pilot Barney Storey.
In the second bout, Kappes and MacLean accelerated to overtake their rivals with a lap and a half to go before swooping down to the racing line.
Storey and Fachie nearly lost control behind them and sat up, settling for silver.
It was a second successive tandem sprint gold for Kappes, who won the title alongside Storey in Beijing in 2008.
Britain won both golds in the tandem sprint events, after Fachie and Storey won one-kilometre time-trial gold, when Kappes and MacLean did not finish due to mechanical trouble.
Team GB just missed out on another cycling gold in the mixed C1-5 team sprint - but Darren Kenny, Rik Waddon and Jon-Allan Butterworth had to settle for silver.
China won in a world record of 49.454, with Britain second in 49.519.
It was Butterworth's third silver from three events, with two to come on the road at Brands Hatch next week.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197119/2012-Paralympics-Kate-Middleton-cheers-mixed-coxed-fours-presents-gold-medal-champion-discus-thrower.html#ixzz25M7kBEhf
