Paralympics: Plat completes treble, Jansen wins 10th medal of 33-year career

Jetze Plat celebrates his third gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics. Belga Photo/Rob Walbers
Jetze Plat celebrates his third gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics. Belga Photo/Rob Walbers

Cyclist Jetze Plat completed an unprecedented treble at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday by winning the road race in the H4 category.

The 30-year-old, who earlier took gold in the triathlon and the time trial, said he had ‘run everyone into the ground, including myself’ after breaking away halfway through the 79km race.

‘It was going so well, but I was really scared I’d blow up,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know how far ahead I was and kept pushing on. One lap before the finish I heard my lead was three minutes but I didn’t slow down, so you know how well it was going.’

There were more gold medals for the cycling team, with Mitch Valize winning the men’s road race in the H5 category as Tim de Vries took bronze. And 53-year-old Janette Jansen won her 10th medal in her seventh Paralympics with gold in the women’s time trial. She first competed in the Seoul Games in 1988, winning three gold medals.

The Dutch team are up to fifth in the medal table after eight days, with 19 golds, 10 silvers and 10 bronzes.

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