Kadeena Cox overcomes injury to claim gold at World Para Athletics Championships
The 26-year-old won in one minute and 2.87 seconds.
Kadeena Cox overcame injury to storm to victory in the women’s T38 400m at the World Para Athletics Championships in London.
The 26-year-old, the T38 400m Paralympic champion, won gold in one minute and 2.87 seconds – just under six seconds ahead of Japan’s Yuka Takamatsu – on Friday.
She will look to add another title on Saturday at the London Stadium when she races in the T38 100m, against team-mate Sophie Hahn, having already won bronze in the T38 200m.
Cox was battling a hamstring injury but dominated the race to claim her third world championship crown after two gold medals in Doha two years ago.
She said: “I was meant to go hard for the first 50m and then sit in but I didn’t do the sitting in bit. I knew I was past them at 200m but I didn’t see what happened after that. I just kept going because I knew there was no coming back.
“I’ve got a bit of a niggle, it’s an athlete thing, and then you add in the neurological condition so I’m having problems down my affected side.
“I didn’t hit my world record which I would have liked to have done but I’ve not done the training. Most people know I’ve only done two or three months of training. I’m happy with the win.
“I was disappointed with my race technique, it was quite bad in the 200m. This time I wanted to go out and execute a better race for at least 300m.”
Cox now turns her attention to her 100m battle with Hahn and insisted, despite her hamstring injury, she will recover.
She added: “My hamstring has been touch and go but the British Athletics team have been very supportive.
“The recovery is always going to be tricky. I’ve got MS so the fatigue builds up but the team are amazing.
“They’ll get me back and glue me back together where needed and hopefully I’ll be out on Saturday fighting fit.”
But it was heartbreak for Paralympic champion Paul Blake in the T36 400m as the 27-year-old finished fourth on Friday night.
Blake was one of the favourites to claim victory after his Paralympic gold in the discipline last year but faded with 20 metres left to finish in 55.79 seconds, with Australia’s James Turner claiming victory.
Elsewhere, Steve Morris won his heat in the men’s T20 800m to reach Saturday’s final and James Hamilton finished third in his heat to also qualify.
Morris added: “I fell happy now. I can relax, I did what I planned to do and that was to go out strongly. I cannot wait for the final.”
