Derbyshire cyclist wins gold at Paralympics

9 September 2008

Derbyshire cyclist Anthony Kappes has won a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Anthony, who competes in the blind/visually impaired category together with pilot rider Barney Storey, broke the world record in the men's 1km time trial with a time of one minute 2.864 seconds.

Anthony, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, is part of the ten-strong GB cycling team currently competing in Beijing.

Last year he was named the University of Derby Disabled Sportsperson of the Year at the Derbyshire Sports Awards.

Other Derbyshire athletes competing at the Paralympics in September are swimmer David Ellis, wheelchair tennis player Alex Jewitt, wheelchair basketball competitor Jon Hall, and footballer Leon Taylor.

Leon (pictured), from Chaddesden, is a goalkeeper in the seven-a-side Cerebral Palsy football squad.

The team lost to defending gold medallists Ukraine, in their first group match, with a final score of 8-1. They will face Iran on Wednesday.

* Derbyshire young leader Caelan Chambers is also currently in Beijing after being selected for the trip as part of the British Council’s Young Advocate Programme.

He is one of just 100 18 to 25-year-olds from the UK who will spend nine days learning more about disability sport and Chinese culture.

He began his trip by attending the Paralympics opening ceremony, which Caelan described as "amazing".

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