The chance of another “normal” Paralympics with fans, plus having her children watching again, was a major factor in Sarah Storey returning for a remarkable ninth Games.
Storey is the most successful and decorated British Paralympian of all time, with 28 medals including 17 golds in swimming and cycling. No active Paralympian in any sport has won more.
After first competing at the Barcelona Paralympics in 1992, the 46-year-old is on the hunt for two more golds in road cycling at Paris 2024 – she currently has 12 on two wheels.
And while the build-up to these Games has been trickier than most, Storey has been pushed on by several factors – including the desire to not have her final Games played out in front of zero spectators.
The last Paralympics, in Tokyo, took place amid stringent restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. After a vibrant Paris Olympics at which fans were able to return, she is looking forward to a similar atmosphere at the Paralympics.
Among the spectators will be her children, 10-year-old Louisa and six-year-old Charlie – and Storey says she has been spurred on by competing in a Games which she hopes both will remember when they are older.
“When we made the decision after Tokyo that I would carry on, there was no guarantee that we would not still be in some form of lockdown,” she told BBC Breakfast’s Joe Lynskey.
“But the chance to have a normal Games with supporters, fans, children on the roadside, the chance to experience that atmosphere, was too good to turn down.
“Charlie has never experienced a Games – hopefully he and Louisa will remember this.”
The only person to win five Paralympic gold medals as a teenager, Storey has faced countless challenges in her career – but even for her, this Paralympic cycle has been tough.
Issues with sponsorships and funding in the light of Covid were compounded by a serious crash in 2022, in which she suffered broken ribs, a partially punctured lung and a concussion.
It caused Storey to miss the 2022 World Championships, and left her unsure whether she would be able to attain the elite levels she expects in time for Paris.
However, a surge in form in 2024 has seen the old confidence return as she prepares to be the first British athlete to compete at nine Paralympic Games.
“The recovery was a lot longer than I anticipated, it wasn’t until the beginning of this year that I started to see improvements in power,” she said.
“Then I was seeing my highest ever power on the road, which at the age of 46 is no mean feat. Nearly two years later, my body has finally started to recover after having such a horrendous time at the end of 2022 – there was one point where I wondered if age had caught up with me, or whether I was unlucky that all this was happening at the same time.”
Storey’s remarkable longevity can be put down to a rigorous and personalised training regime, as well as meticulous attention to detail.
BBC reporter Sally Hurst has seen that rigour first hand, both as a Para-cyclist for Great Britain – where she was selected in the same squad as Storey at several competitions – then in her latter journalism career.
“She has her own way of doing things,” Hurst told BBC Sport. “Everything has to be perfect; she looks at her own bike set-up, while cyclists like me might just rely on the mechanics. She will check absolutely everything.
“I went out with her once for an interview, we were just having a potter around on our bikes. There was a little bit of muck on her tyres; she got off, had a good look at it, got a passerby with a baby, took a baby wipe and wiped off the tyre. And that was just for a little ride down the street.”
Storey is making some concessions to competing at a Paralympics in her mid-40s, against some rivals who were not even born when she was first winning gold medals.
She will not be featuring in any track cycling events at the 2024 Games, instead pouring all her focus into winning gold on the streets of Paris in two events – the road race and time trial.
“On the track you can tell in advance more easily who is going to win – you know your time, you know what your competitors are doing, it is a controlled environment, you can tell the contenders,” said Hurst. “In the road race and time trial, they are much more tactical, there are many more variables.
“She knows she can be competitive in a road race because she has these years of experience; she knows when she needs to put the hammer down.”
Storey is the defending champion in the road race, earning her 17th Paralympic gold in the women’s individual road race C4–5 in Tokyo. In the time trial she is even more dominant, winning gold in that discipline at every Games since switching from swimming to cycling for Beijing 2008.
Winning both and taking her individual tally to 19 gold medals would make Storey the fourth-most successful Paralympian ever in terms of golds – only swimmers Trischa Zorn and Beatrice Hess and winter Paralympian Ragnhild Myklebust would have more.
Storey says she is not thinking about standing atop the Paralympic podium again just yet.
“The thing about road cycling is you are defending a title, but on a completely different course and environment,” she said. “There are no guarantees around the weather either, you have to be prepared for every eventuality. So it is about getting to the start line in the best shape and taking it from there.”
Storey will be 50 by the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, but says she has not thought that far ahead amid a packed calendar.
The 2024 Road World Championships take place in Zurich between 21 and 29 September, starting less than two weeks after the Paralympics conclude – and Storey is focused on four race wins rather than any potential retirement.
“I’ve never gone into any Games thinking it is my last one, I am focusing on what is needed and the decisions come later,” she said.
“So it’s about having no distractions for the four races, then putting my feet up and making some decisions.”
Hurst added: “As soon as she thinks she can’t win any more, that’s when she steps aside. But she doesn’t go out to compete, she goes out to win.”
Storey has made some career moves outside of cycling – she is a visiting professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, and earlier this year was named president of cricket club Lancashire.
But her primary passion remains Paralympic sport, and while she acknowledges there have been significant improvements in funding and coverage since her first Games 32 years ago, she feels there is a long way to go.
“Prize money has not made its way into Para-sport at any level, there are areas to improve,” she said.
“The coverage at Games time is unrecognisable though – wall-to-wall coverage, in Barcelona it was one hour every few days.
“But we cannot rest on our laurels. Have we moved on since London 2012? I think we will find out in Paris.”
