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Sarah Storey

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Sarah Storey

Dame Sarah Joanne Storey (née Bailey; born 26 October 1977) is a British cyclist and swimmer, a multiple gold medallist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion (2 × Pursuit, 1 × Points, 3 × Team Pursuit).

Her total of 30 Paralympic medals, including 19 gold medals, makes her the most successful (by gold medals) and most decorated (by total medals) British Paralympian of all time as well as one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes of all time. She has the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in Paralympics before turning 19.

Storey's major achievements include being a 29-time World champion (6 in swimming and 23 in cycling), a 21-time European champion (18 in swimming and 3 in cycling) and holding 75 world records. She is regarded as one of the most experienced campaigners in the history of the Paralympics as she took part at the Paralympics on nine occasions between 1992 and 2024.

For several years at her peak, Storey's progress was such that she was competitive at able-bodied elite level on the track, and for a period was in the Great Britain Olympic squad programme for team pursuit. She won a number of UCI Track Cycling World Cup gold medals in team pursuit in that period, and narrowly missed the (able-bodied) women's hour world record by less than 600 metres, taking the national record. She remains the current para world record holder in women's 3000m individual pursuit and hour record.

On 2 September 2021, she surpassed Mike Kenny's 16 Paralympic gold medal record to become Great Britain's most successful Paralympic athlete of all time after securing her 17th Paralympic gold medal when she won the women's road race C4-5 event.

Storey was born Sarah Bailey in Manchester without a functioning left hand after her arm became entangled in the umbilical cord in the womb and the hand did not develop as normal. As a schoolgirl, she was subjected to bullying by her school mates and also faced eating disorder issues at school. She joined her first swimming club at the age of ten and was told by her coach that she had started her training too late to be good at anything.

Storey began her Paralympic career as a swimmer, winning two golds, three silvers and a bronze in Barcelona in 1992 at the age of 14.

She retained her Paralympic gold medals in women's 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley events at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. Despite the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), she continued to participate in swimming and claimed four silver medals and a solitary bronze in the next two Paralympic Games in 2000 and 2004 before quitting the sport.

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