Paralympics Day 4: Irish in action and best of the rest as MacCombe twins bring sibling rivalry to para triathlon

10am: Damien Vereker & Martin Gordon (Para Cycling Track – B 1,000m time trial, qualifying)
10.26am: Josephine Healion & Katie George Dunlevy (Para Cycling Track – B 3,000m individual pursuit, qualifying)
11.05am: Chloe MacCombe & Judith MacCombe (Para Triathlon – PTVI)
11.40am: Cassie Cava (Para Triathlon – PTS4)
*12.51pm: Damien Vereker & Martin Gordon (Para Cycling Track – B 1,000m time trial, final)
*1.31pm/1.41pm: Josephine Healion & Katie George Dunlevy (Para Cycling Track – B 3,000m individual pursuit, bronze/gold medal races)
*Depending on qualification
Anyone up for a Sunday cycle? No? That’s okay, there’s enough from Team Ireland on their bikes to cover us.
Damien Vereker is back for his second Paralympic Games having previously represented Ireland in Rio. He’s up second in the qualifying round of the men’s B 1,000m time trial, followed closely by Martin Gordon who will go fourth. The six fastest riders will progress to the afternoon’s finals.
Also at the National Velodrome, Josephine Healion and Katie George Dunlevy are both back for more after competing in the B 1,000m time trial on Friday. Healion was seventh in the heats, putting her just outside qualification of the final in which Dunlevy finished fifth.
In Sunday’s event, Healion sets off fourth along with GB’s Sophie Unwin, and Dunlevy is right behind her, paired with world record-holder Lora Fachie. In the individual pursuit, the riders with the two fastest times from the qualifying round race for gold, with the third and fourth fastest riders racing for bronze.
And then there’s double trouble in the PTVI para triathlon, which was rescheduled due to weather. Derry twins Chloe and Judith MacCombe will bring a healthy dose of sibling rivalry when they set off from Pont Alexandre III. The course involved a 750m swim, followed by a 20km cycle and finishing with a 5km run.
Finally, last up for Ireland on Sunday, bar any final action in the velodrome, is Cassie Cava. The 32-year-old is among 15 athletes competing in the PTS4 para triathlon, which covers the same distances in each discipline as the PTVI event.
While of course we will all be tuning in to cheer on the aforementioned MacCombe twins, the para triathlon events which begin on Sunday will be a good watch.
The event, which is divided into six classification for men and five for women, was added at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, and has proved an absolute hit.
The course takes in some of the best of Paris – the swim sets off from the ornate Pont Alexandre III bridge, the athletes will travel up the iconic Champs-Élysées during the cycle and the run will bring them along the Quai d’Orsay. It’s like a whistle-stop tour of some of Paris’ greatest hits.
And two athletes worth watching out for are Jetze Plat, competing for the Netherlands in the PTWC event, and USA’s Allysa Seely in the PTS2. They each won gold at both the Rio and Tokyo Games, so let’s see if they can do the hat-trick.