Paralympic World Cup round-up

GB Paralympians pipped to post in athletics...

Two Paralympians intent on competing at the highest level stole the show at the opening of the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

Jason Smyth of Ireland and Oscar Pistorius of South Africa showed their inter­national pedigree on a day when Great Britain's squad struggled to impress.

Before a record crowd of over 5,000 spectators, made up largely of school­children, Smyth kicked off events in impressive fashion, winning the opening event, the men's T11-13 200m, by over a second from Luis Goncalves of Portugal. He later went on to pick up the sprint double, winning the 100m in equally impressive style in 10.66, ahead of GB's James Ball who finished second in 11.76.

The double Paralympic gold medallist has been training with American Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay in Florida, and has already qualified for this summer's non-disabled European Championships in Barcelona. Smyth's personal best for the 100m is currently 10.41, near the Irish non-disabled national record of 10.35.

Paralympic sport's most recognisable figure, Oscar Pistorius, also picked up two golds, coming in first in both the T44 100m and 400m.

It was something of a routine afternoon for Pistorius who, while well outside his personal best times, still won comfortably in both events, taking the 100m in 11.33 and the 400m in 48.83.

The South African will now turn his attention to making the qualifying grade for the Commonwealth Games in India this Autumn.

Pistorius was given a strong run in both events by Great Britain's Ian Jones, who continues to develop.

Great Britain's leading light on the day proved to be Scottish sprinter Libby Clegg, who took gold in the T11/12 100m ahead of arch-rival Eva Ngui from Spain.

A jaded David Weir, on paper one of GB's strongest bets for a medal, had to make do with silver in the 800m, after being narrowly beaten by Switzerland's Marcel Hug. In the 1500m, Weir seemed to be running a tactical race until Hug powered past at the bell. The Paralympic champion and world record holder looked powerless to reply, eventually finishing fifth.

"I feel very tired today. I raced yesterday and have been racing today and it's been very hard work. I think I need a break," he said.

...but lead in the basketball

GB's men's wheelchair basketball team secured their first Paralympic World Cup title since 2005 with a 53-42 victory over Canada in Sunday's final.

The GB team led from the off against a side they had already dispatched easily in the round-robin stage of the tournament, and always looked likely to claim victory due to their efficiency under the basket.

Experienced guard Jon Pollock led his side with an impressive 17 personal points, while Ian Sagar weighed in with 13.

The victory vindicated the coach Murray Treseder's decision to rest several key players in the previous game against eventual bronze medallists Australia.

Pollock said: "I feel we are gradually getting better. Today we were better than two to three weeks ago in training, so to win the Paralympic World Cup is a big step for us."

The win stands GB's men in good shape for the World Championships, to take place in Birmingham in July.

In the women's events, a young GB side were over­powered by Australia in the bronze medal match, losing 24-59 despite a promising first half.

Women's coach Gary Peel said: "Today's match was a learning experience. We've got a young team here and the players were nervous, but so were some of the more experienced players, so we have to work on that."

Oranges defeat greens

The Netherlands claimed the first ever Paralympic World Cup title in seven-a-side football, with a 3-2 win over Ireland in Manchester's rain-soaked Regional Arena.

The match was a bad-tempered affair from the start, with talismanic Dutch forward Iljas Visker felled by a thunder­ous tackle just five seconds in, leaving the tournament top-scorer face down on the sodden turf and screaming in pain.

That set the tone for much of the first half, with full-blooded challenges from both sides on a slippery surface. There was some slick passing, nonetheless, with the Dutch controlling most of the first half, and much of the good work coming from the lively Visker. The Netherlands then stretched their lead to two from the penalty spot, after Dennis Straat­man was pushed in the box. Straatman himself took the kick, firing high into McGillivary's net.

Against the run of play, Gary Messit pulled Ireland back into the game just before half-time, bundling a loose ball home after the Dutch defence failed to clear.

In the second half, Ireland started rejuvenated, level­ling the scores within a minute with Jason Moran firing home from the edge of the box. But it was to be the Netherlands' day, when Jeffrey Bruinier saved the game from going into extra time by cashing a dubious free kick awarded just outside the Irish box.

Said Marcel Geestman, Netherlands Head Coach: "We're really happy to win the gold medal because the other teams are the top competitors in the world, and going on to other competitions with this win in our heads will boost the team's confidence."

In the third-place match, GB thumped the USA 8-4 to take the bronze medal, with Michael Barker netting four times.

Though disappointed not to get the gold, GB captain and goalkeeper Jordan Raynes was pleased with his team's win. "The Paralym­pic World Cup has been a reality check for all the lads. We've not done as well as we would have hoped, but it's fantastic to be involved in such a big tournament.

"I think you learn more from a defeat than a win. That's good for some of the younger lads on the team to experience, so they realise it's not always a smooth experience to compete in an elite tournament like this. We'll learn from this."

Britons take gold in the pool

The last day of competition at the Paralympic World Cup saw four world records broken at the Aquatics Centre in Manchester, as British swimmers dominated proceedings in the pool.

It was Ellie Simmonds, the teenage superstar from the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, who opened proceedings in style, breaking her own world best mark in the SM6 200m Individual Medley, in a time of 3:11.06. GB's Natalie Jones came second.

Speaking after the race, Simmonds said: "I didn't really think I was going to do that good a time. I'm just really happy it's a world record. I haven't swum the 100m Breaststroke for a few years and so I'm happy to have swum a PB."

Sam Hynd, another rising young star among GB's swimming squad, also bettered his own world best with a time of 4:26.08 in the S8 400m Freestyle.

Youngster Charlotte Henshaw took the world record in the SB6 100m Backstroke from team-mate Liz Johnson, while veteran Nyree Lewis trimmed a gnat's breath of three hundredths of a second off her own record.

Aside from the record breakers, there were golds for Stephanie Millward in the S9 100m butter­fly, Jonathan Fox in the S7 100m backstroke, Sascha Kindred in the SM6 200m individual medley, Louise Watkin in the S9 50m freestyle, Thomas Young in the S8 100m back­stroke and Matt Walker in the S7 50m freestyle, beat­ing arch-rival Dave Roberts.

The swimmers will now turn their attentions to the upcoming World Championships, taking place in Eindhoven in the Netherlands this August.