Paralympics 2016: Great Britain match London 2012 gold-medal tally

Great Britain equalled their tally of gold medals from London 2012 by winning three in the space of 20 minutes on the sixth evening of the Rio Paralympics.

Sprinter Libby Clegg, 26, led the way - adding the T11 200m title to the 100m crown she won on Saturday.

That came after Stephanie Millward won the S8 100m backstroke and just before Matt Wylie took gold - GB's 34th in Rio - in the men's S9 50m freestyle.

Earlier, Georgie Hermitage, Hollie Arnold and Rob Davies also won gold.

Hermitage, 27, added 400m gold to her 100m title as she stormed to T37 victory in a new world record of one minute 0.43 seconds.

Arnold, 22, won F46 javelin gold with a world record of 43.01m, while Wales' Davies, 32, beat South Korea's Young Dae Joo 3-1 to win the class one table tennis.

Ellie Simmonds and David Weir both relinquished titles they had won at London 2012 in a packed evening of events.

Simmonds was disappointed with her S6 400m freestyle bronze, which added to the gold she won on Monday.

Weir, meanwhile, finished fourth in the T54 1500m - at what he later described as "probably my last Paralympics" - as Thailand's Prawat Wahoram won gold.

Piers Gilliver took silver in the men's individual epee wheelchair fencing as he was beaten by Chinese world champion Sun Gang.

Ollie Hynd claimed his second medal of the Games, finishing second in the men's S8 100m backstroke behind China's Zhou Cong, who won in a world record time of 1:02.90.

Stephen Miller took bronze in the F32 club throw. The 36-year-old, who won the title at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Paralympics, secured the final spot on the podium with a season's best of 31.93m.

There was also bronze for Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker, who beat Japan's Miho Nijo and Yuii Kamji 6-3 0-6 6-1 in the women's wheelchair tennis doubles.

Britain's medal haul has been helped by the absence of Russian athletes from the Games.

They won 102 medals in London four years ago - including 36 golds - as they finished second in the medal table.

However, they have been banned from competing in Rio as punishment for a state-sponsored doping programme.

Great Britain's golden 20 minutes

23:33 - Millward wins the women's S8 100m backstroke

23:52 - Clegg claims the women's T11 200m title

23:53 - Wylie takes gold in the men's S9 50m freestyle final

• Millward tells BBC Radio 5 live: 'My dreams are finally realised'

Millward, who won four silvers and a bronze at London 2012 and had claimed two bronzes so far in Rio, finally added a Paralympic gold to her collection with an emphatic victory.

She finished over four seconds ahead of her nearest rival - Australia's Maddison Elliott - in a new Paralympic record time of 1:13.02.

The 34-year-old is the British record holder in the 100m backstroke at 15 and was hoping to qualify for the Sydney 2000 Olympics before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis aged 17.

She told BBC Radio 5 live: "Eighteen years of trying and here I am with a gold medal at last.

"I'm hopefully proof to people that as long as you keep on fighting, it will be worth it in the end."

• Day-by-day guide: Brits in action, golds on offer, highlights

• Roll of honour: Who has won gold, silver and bronze for GB?

• Rio Paralympics sport-by-sport guide

• How to follow the Paralympics on the BBC

Clegg claimed her second gold medal of the Games, finishing ahead of Chinese duo Liu Cuiqing and Zhou Guohua, after home favourite Guilhermina Terezinha was disqualified for a false start.

"I've massively surprised myself," said Clegg. "I've had a really tough year and if you'd asked me 10 months ago, I'd have said this wasn't possible."

As Clegg was celebrating her victory, Wylie was narrowly winning a fiercely contested 50m freestyle contest in the pool.

The 19-year-old's time of 25.95 gave him victory over Australia's Timothy Diskin, with all eight competitors separated by just 0.81secs.

Analysis

BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson in Rio

"Wins for Steph Millward and Matt Wylie at the pool on Tuesday made it nine golds for the British swimming team and means they have already surpassed their total of seven from London 2012 with four days of competition still to go.

"Millward has certainly benefitted from her reclassification earlier this year, which means she now swims against more disabled swimmers than she did previously.

"She has described the 100m backstroke as her event and a new Paralympic record saw her claim her first Paralympic title in her third Games.

"Wylie is one of a number of talented youngsters coming through into the GB set-up and he showed plenty of grit and determination for the perfect finish in the splash and dash 50m freestyle."

Hermitage overcomes doubts

• Listen on BBC Radio 5 live to the moment Hermitage won gold

Hermitage, who quit athletics as a teenager before London 2012 inspired her to return, had been tipped to possibly lower the world record beneath the 60-second barrier.

But, in 36C heat and without competition to push her along the home straight, the 27-year-old cerebral palsy athlete from Guildford could not quite match those expectations.

"Everyone was expecting me to win this one and I did feel the pressure - I always do, I think I'm a natural worrier," she said.

Hermitage could claim a third gold in Thursday's 4x100m relay.

Arnold completes medal set

Arnold is competing in her third Paralympics at the age of just 22, but this is the first for which she favourite for gold.

The world number one and two-time world champion justified her status, twice breaking the previous world record of 41.15m as she held off the challenge of New Zealand's Holly Robinson.

"I actually thought I had one more throw," she told Channel 4. "When my coach told me I had won gold I just burst into tears. I didn't expect to break the world record by that much."

• Listen on BBC Radio 5 live to the moment Arnold won gold

Team-mate Hannah Cockroft, who retained her London 2012 T34 100m crown at Rio, congratulated Arnold on Twitter

Davies grinds out final win

Davies, a former semi-professional rugby player who suffered a serious spinal injury in a collapsed scrum in 2005, showed steely determination to close out victory.

"I must thank everybody for their support," said the 32-year-old. "We've been working hard behind the scenes and it has paid off. I'm chuffed I managed to keep it together.

"I haven't beaten any of the Koreans for a while, so to do it on the biggest stage is brilliant."

Simmonds beaten by Mereshko

After setting a world record to win the SM6 200m individual medley on Monday, Simmonds relinquished the S6 400m freestyle title she first won in Beijing aged 13, taking bronze in Rio.

The 21-year-old said: "It was just one of those days I think, after last night maybe, doing a world record and having a late night, but normally I can do that - I just don't know what happened."

• Simmonds tells BBC Radio 5 live: I just want a hug from my parents

Weirwolf 'just wasn't good enough'

Weir, 37, surrendered his title in the T54 1500m, reaching the bell in seventh and leaving himself too much to do.

"I don't want to be making excuses because we all have the same problems but I am really struggling to get the tyre pressure right out here - I don't know if it's the heat or the humidity.

"I feel I'm getting better with every race and I still have two individual and a relay to go," he said.

Weir will compete in the men's 800m T54 heats on Wednesday and the 4x400m relay and marathon.

A tennis marathon

Britons Andy Lapthorne and Jamie Burdekin took bronze in the men's quad doubles wheelchair tennis, in what was the longest tennis match at a Paralympics, at four hours and 25 minutes.

They beat Israel's Itai Erenlib and Shraga Weinburg 3-6 6-4 7-6 in a gruelling encounter, the second set alone lasting two hours.

Burdekin said: "That heat is ridiculous, it's the hottest I've ever played in. I nearly died in the first set. As soon as the second set was over and we had the break, I went to the toilet and put my head in a bowl of water."

Well, that's awkward...

Tatyana McFadden has won two golds and a silver so far in Rio

In an all-Polish fencing final, Adrian Castro possibly made future dinner conversations with his family a little awkward by winning bronze in the men's individual sabre event category B at the expense of his future father-in-law, Grzegorz Pluta.

Meanwhile, America's Tatyana McFadden claimed her second gold medal of the Rio Games and her fifth overall at the Paralympics by winning the women's 1500m T53/54 final.

The 27-year-old led an American top three with Amanda McGrory claiming silver and Chelsea McClammer taking bronze.

China's Shang Guangxu, 21, smashed his own world record twice as he took gold with 6.77m in a superb men's long jump T37 final.

Shang's compatriot Hu Jianwen also set a world record of 10.74 to win the men's 100m T38 final ahead of Australia's Evan O'Hanlon and Edson Pinheiro of Brazil.

Brit watch key times - day seven

12:20 - Sarah Storey in women's C5 time trial

13:00 - Megan Giglia in women's C1-3 time trial

13:00 - Para-canoe makes its Paralympic debut with Brits in every race

13:30 - Matt Skelhon's last chance to win a medal in Rio in men's R6 50m rifle Prone

13:38 - Jon Fox and Mikey Jones in men's S7 400m freestyle heats (final 21:44)

13:54 - World record holder Aaron Moore and Scott Quin in men's SB14 100m breaststroke heats (final 22:06)

14:00 - Sophie Wells in the equestrian grade IV individual test final

14:01 - Bethany Firth and Jessica-Jane Applegate in women's SB14 100m breaststroke heats (final 22:13)

14:30 - GB open the wheelchair rugby tournament against Paralympic champions Australia

14:54 - Sixteen-year-old sprinting sensation Maria Lyle in women's T35 final

15:17 - Kadeena Cox aims for more gold in women's T38 400m final

16:00 - Gordon Reid v Stephane Houdet (France) - wheelchair tennis men's singles semi-finals

17:30 - Alfie Hewett v Joachim Gerard (Belgium) - wheelchair tennis men's singles semi-finals

18:00 - GB flagbearer Lee Pearson in the equestrian grade 1b individual test final

20:30 - Andy Lapthorne in the wheelchair tennis men's quad singles gold medal match against Dylan Alcott of Australia

21:30 - GB v Australia wheelchair basketball quarter-final

21:30 - Vanessa Daobry in women's F34 shot put final

21:40 - Hannah Cockroft, Kare Adenegan & Mel Nicholls in women's T34 400m final

21:50 - Isaac Towers in men's T34 800m final

22:59 - David Weir and Richard Chiassaro in men's T54 800m heats