Mark Bristow of Great Britain finally established himself as a world beater by taking gold in the Men's 1km Time Trial (LC1) in a new world record time. His previous individual bests were third in the Paralympic World Cup 1km Time Trial earlier this year and fourth in the 1km Time Trial at the World Championships in 2007.
Better known as a Team Sprint rider in which he helped Britain take gold at both the World Championships and the World Cup, Bristow blazed around the track never falling below world record pace and flashed over the line in a time of 1:08.873, trimming 0.2 seconds off the record set by Australian Michael Gallagher at the 2007 World Championships in Bordeaux, France.
Gallagher himself could only manage fourth, a disappointing ride after his gold medal success in the LC1 Individual Pursuit yesterday.
Separating Bristow and Gallagher were Zhang Kuidong who surprised everyone by taking silver, the first of the Games for China's men, and Wolfgang Sacher of Germany, who added a bronze to the silver he took in yesterday's Individual Pursuit.
A one-time favorite came in fifth. Austria's Wolfgang Eibeck, competing in his fourth Paralympics, failed in his bid to add to the only Paralympic Track Cycling gold in his possession, won at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
(BOCOG September 9, 2008)