Jaco van Gass defended his Tokyo gold even after getting hit by a car

Day two is in the books for the Paralympic Games in Paris. And it was another day of amazing competition and more medals for Team GB. Perhaps the most exciting story came out of Para Cycling.

It was a one-two punch for ParalympicsGB, as the team took home both the gold and the silver in men's C3 3000m individual pursuit. Fin Graham walked away with the silver, after a qualification round that saw him breaking the world record set by his team mate, Jaco van Gass. But it was Jaco van Gass who walked away with that gold and yes, another world record.

The thing about van Gass is that there was actually some doubt over his participation in the 2024 Paris Games. The reason for that is because one week before the games began, he was in the hospital after being hit by a car while training on the roads outside of the city.

Jaco van Gass defended his Tokyo gold in Paris, even after a car hit him during training one week prior to the games

Jaco van Gass opened up about the accident and his concerns ahead of the games.

"I was totally heartbroken, I was like this could be my Paralympics done before I’ve even started. I was so worried but I was quickly in an ambulance and in hospital and the medical teams could not have done more. I woke up the next day so stiff and sore and it was very hard to even comprehend I’d be riding.
I wasn’t worried about the cuts but my knee was really badly bruised but within two days I was back on the bike. I did a session at the velodrome and then I knew I’d be okay, after all it was only a Renault!"

- Jaco van Gass

All things considered, it makes sense that he was concerned, but the fact that he was back up and on his bike within days of getting hit by a car is proof that he was not going to let anything stop him from defending his gold medal. And it was clearly some tight competition between him and his teammate, Fin Graham.

Obviously these two men are strong competitors. And as Graham pointed out, "He’s just super determined and he’s incredibly hard to beat. I get his world record and boom, five minutes later he’s got it back, what can you do?”

However, with both men walking away with medals, it is clear that not even a car can stop these athletes from showing up and showing that they are world class athletes. And we love to see them showing the world just how talented they are.

Did you get to see Jaco van Gass defending his Tokyo gold? Are you surprised that he went from getting hit by a car to another gold medal in the C3 3000m individual pursuit?