Head and shoulders above the rest, what a pairing Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter are. Recording a time that would have had them 17th (out of 33) in the Men's event, the British riders today not only had a convincing World Record Gold medal win but also showed just how well they can handle their new tandem with a line around the track that most of the men the day before could only dream of. It was an awesome display by them and they did of course well deserve their Rainbow stripes and Gold medals.
Aileen McGlynn. Scotland's Paralympic heroine from Athens, may have only got the chance of one ride in Aigle but she and her pilot Ellen Hunter made the most of it with a convincing win. "It's brilliant. It's my first World's jersey so I'm really really pleased. The track here is very fast but I'm glad it's over!"
"The race was a real blur. We got a really good start and just kept pedalling. I thought the Americans might have finished closer and we were concerned that the Chinese were getting better but its nice we're so far ahead of everyone else and I think we can go faster. Our training has been going really really well since the Paralympic World Cup where we had done a 1.10.4 but all that matters is winning the Gold Medal and Jersey."
Talking about the great team spirit, Aileen says - "It's all working great and is so well organised now. It's such a professional team where they are working hard for us which is so different to a couple of years ago.
Switching to pilot Ellen Hunter, she had this to say about the ride - "Yesterday I was watching the Men's tandems and was really quite concerned with how they were struggling and I didn't realise this track required so much skill. I hadn't been on the track for a few days so was slightly worried." On the fact she and the other girls only have one sprint event, no 200-metre time-trial sprint competition like the men, Ellen says "Yes, I'm quite annoyed they have taken the Sprint competition out. One of the reasons they say is because they don't think we are up to it but we have just shown our steering capabilities are as good if not better than the men.""I'd also like to say that since last year, we have had a new coach, Barney, and we have improved leaps and bounds since this time last year. Our training is better, we're stronger, fitter, and I have had amazing support from the EIS in Manchester (gym work) and it's just improved us so much. This year, compared to Athens, we have not had to worry about anything, not had to look at the bike so it's great having the support we have there and it makes us really want to give back on what we're getting."
On the change of national coach and management, Ellen says it's all worked quite seamlessly. "Chris has slotted into the position of national coach so well and with Barney and Chris, the team has gone so well. We had the pressure on us today because we normally compete first so it was strange to come into it on the second day when the others already have Gold medals and World records. But the pressure is off now although we are disappointed we can only do the Kilo."
Result
1. MCGLYNN Aileen/HUNTER Ellen, GBR 1:10.795
2. WHITSELL Karissa/COMPTON Katherine USA 1:13.127
3. FUCHS Michaela/JOHN Sonja GER 1:15.490
4. PARSONS Jayne/LAURENSON Michelle, NZL 1:15.750
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