Leeds takes the full set of medals

Gold - Laura Sugar (Sports and Exercise Science 2012)

When she was three years old, a doctor warned Laura’s parents she would never be able to do sport. She was born with talipes, or club foot, and had no movement in her ankle.

Thankfully, they chose not to share the words. Thirty years later, on the final day of the Paris Paralympics, Laura put the icing on the top of Team GB’s summer by retaining her Paralympic title in the para canoe 200m sprint event.

“For as long as I can remember, sport was the most important thing in my world,” Laura said. “So even if they had told me, I’m not sure I would have listened.”

When she arrived in Leeds in 2009, Laura was already an international hockey player for Wales. After realising her ankle impairment qualified her for categories in para sport, she switched to para athletics and placed fifth place in both the 100m and 200m races at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

Her career in para canoe began in 2018 after she was talent spotted by Paddle UK, the national governing body for paddle sports. Laura quickly adapted to the technique and balance required to paddle, in part thanks to the years spent adjusting her stance and balance, and soon became the dominant force in KL3 class (which includes athletes with full function of their trunk and partial function in the legs), winning her first Paralympic gold at Tokyo 2020.

In Paris Laura endured a close battle against home favourite Nelia Barbosa, but blustery conditions on the water saw her pull ahead – thanks to plenty of time training through “a horrible winter” back in the UK.

However for Laura, it isn’t just about winning: “Gold in Paris was so special. But I have always said I just love to race, a medal doesn’t define me, and I stand by that.”

Silver – Claire Cashmore MBE (Linguistics and Phonetics 2011, Hon LLD 2013)

Para triathlete Claire finished second in the PTS5 class (which includes athletes with mild impairment), collecting the tenth Paralympic medal of her career. It was her second triathlon medal, having previously won eight medals competing in swimming across six Games for Team GB.

Claire admitted relief at the result, after battling injuries and a bike mechanical issue just to make the start line in Paris.

Bronze – Sam Dickinson (Sports Science and Physiology 2019)

On his Olympic debut triathlete Sam won bronze with Team GB in the team relay event.

Sam took hold of the baton on leg three in second place, and pushed the team into first after a flying swim, bike and run performance. In the final leg, Sam’s teammate Beth Potter was pipped to the line in a sprint finish with her rivals.

The medal was even more deserved after a display of sacrifice and selflessness in the individual race, where Sam supported Leeds Beckett University alum and former housemate Alex Yee to individual gold.