Tokyo 2020 Paralympics LIVE: David Weir eliminated from 5000m T54 after swimming golds for Great Britain

The six-time Paralympic champion finished eighth in his heat, nearly a minute behind Swiss winner Marcel Hug - there was to be no fairytale return this time for David Weir in the Paralympic 5000m.

“I just feel in a much better place mentally, I don’t feel like there is any pressure, no big weight is hanging over me,” he said prior to the race.

“I’m just enjoying this experience now and trying to appreciate it more.”

His focus will be on the marathon next weekend.

Two-time Paralympic silver medallist Tom Hamer has been forced to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 due to a back injury.

The 23-year-old swimmer claimed second spot in both the S14 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley at Rio 2016.

He had been due to defend the first of those titles on Friday.

British Para Swimming performance director Chris Furber said in a statement: “The team have supported and helped Tom to manage his injury.

“We wanted to give him as long as possible but sadly he’s just not able to compete anywhere near his best.

“He has been an integral part of the team and he has pushed everyone on, so we’re all sad he isn’t able to compete.”

Great Britain’s wheelchair fencers won a first epee team medal since 1980 after increasing their Tokyo Paralympics tally to three with bronze in the men’s event.

Piers Gilliver and Dimitri Coutya, who claimed individual epee gold and bronze in their respective categories on Thursday, combined with Oliver Lam-Watson to clinch a historic podium place with a 45-38 victory over Ukraine.

The trio’s endeavours included a convincing 45-29 triumph over Rio 2016 champions France in the pool stage before defeat to eventual champions the Russian Paralympic Committee denied them a shot at gold.

Games debutant Paralympic debutant Lam-Watson said: “It is lovely to compete with my two best friends - to get such a great result with the guys is phenomenal.”

In table tennis, defending class seven champion Will Bayley was among four players to reach semi-finals and guarantee themselves at least a bronze medal.

Tom Matthews (class one), Jack Hunter-Spivey (class five) and Paul Karabardak (class six) also made the last four in their respective singles events.

Meanwhile, Aaron McKibbin, Billy Shilton and Ross Wilson each won their last-16 matches in the men’s class eight.

Bayley, who suffered a serious knee injury as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, said: “I live for these moments. That’s five Paralympic medals and I never would have dreamed of getting five.

“This one means as much if not more than any of the others because of the injury and everything that has happened these last few years so it’s good to be back winning medals.”

At Sea Forest Waterway, Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley made a strong start to their rowing title defence after being quickest in qualifying for the mixed double sculls.

The reigning world, European and Paralympic champions progressed automatically to Sunday’s A final by finishing seven seconds clear of Ukraine in the heats in a time of 8:42:27.

Rowles said: “GB fans can expect absolute excellence as we always produce.

“We are here to defend that title, we are champions coming to this, we hold the triple crown and that’s what we are here to defend.”

So much more to come over the weekend at the Paralympics - finals in the Discus, 5000m and Javelin are among the medal events to come on Saturday.

Here’s the full list of track and field events taking place, including the medal races and finals:

The old Ali Jawad is dead and now comes a new life for the powerlifting king, whose next goal is to try to feel well again.

The 32-year-old was not at his fourth Paralympic Games for a medal, and he didn’t get one. He was in Tokyo to prove that he could conquer Crohn’s disease and reach the biggest stage in his sport.

Jawad did just that, successfully lifting 163kg and then 164kg, before trying and failing at 166kg and exiting the competition in sixth place.

“I’m very proud to have made it here because I was never supposed to make it,” he said. “I said all along my medal was to get here and I’ve done that. I don’t have to have a medal around my neck to represent the journey that I’ve been through.

“I’ve managed to take Crohn’s to the very limits of what anyone’s been able to take it before, and managed to survive and I’m here. I’m very proud.”

Kadeena Cox has opened up about becoming the first ever black Para-cyclist to win gold at the Paralympic Games.

The Brit said: “Just do everything you want to do, I set up the KC Academy to get more black people into cycling. You can’t be it if you can’t see it.

“I totally expect there to be a young boy or girl seeing me and going on to be better than me and that’s what I want to see.”

Four-time Paralympic medallist Jon-Allan Butterworth is relishing some danger and unpredictability after joining GB Snowsport’s Para Snowsport world class programme.

Butterworth, who won three silver medals at London 2012 and gold in Rio in 2016, retired from professional cycling in December last year and was initially looking forward to snowboarding simply for fun.

But the 35-year-old is now targeting success in the Para Snowboard discipline at the 2026 Games in Italy after instantly rediscovering his love for competitive sport.

He said: “I wanted to try to go to Tokyo and defend the team sprint title but going through two Paralympic cycles was quite mentally taxing.

“It got to the point where it was difficult to find the motivation to stay at the top. A bad day was a silver and you lost the initial new sport feeling. It felt like more of a slog trying to get back to your best.

“My first rehab event back in 2007 just after I lost my arm was snowboarding and I kind of classed myself as a recreational snowboarder. I had a real passion for it, but cycling always got in the way.

“It always clashed with the paracycling programme and there was always a risk of injury so I was looking forward to retiring so I could snowboard. I never thought of the possibility of switching over.

“The only other sport I was thinking about was taekwondo. I got offered triathlon and I thought that’s not my bag at all. I’d probably swim around in circles and my running’s not very good.

“So I got in touch with the (snowboard) coaches and expressed an interest and went back in the dome as soon as it reopened after Covid and it was instantaneous. I got that excitement back for a sport that I realised I had lost a little bit in cycling. I got that kid-like joy in doing something.”

Saturday 28 August

• 1am-6.55am: Archery at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field
• 1am-3.45am: Goalball at Makuhari Messe Hall C
• 1am-3.35am: Swimming at Tokyo Aquatics Centre
• 1am-7am: Table tennis at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
• 1am-5am: Wheelchair basketball at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza & Ariake Arena
• 1am-7am: Wheelchair basketball at Makuhari Messe Hall B
• 1.30am-4.50am: Athletics at Olympic Stadium
• 1.30am-6.20am: Boccia at Ariake Gymnastics Centre
• 1.30am-5.10am: Rowing at Sea Forest Waterway
• 2am-5.15am: Track cycling at Izu Velodrome
• 2am-3.30am: Sitting volleyball at Makuhari Messe Hall A
• 2.30am-5.30am: Judo at Nippon Budokan
• 3am-2pm: Wheelchair tennis at Ariake Tennis Park
• 3.30am-8am: Wheelchair rugby at Yoyogi National Stadium
• 5.15am-8am: Goalball at Makuhari Messe Hall C
• 6am-7.30am: Sitting volleyball at Makuhari Messe Hall A
• 6.45am-10.45am: Wheelchair basketball at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza & Ariake Arena
• 8am-12.50pm: Boccia at Ariake Gymnastics Centre
• 8am-10.40am: Judo at Nippon Budokan
• 8.30am-1.30pm: Table tennis at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
• 8.30am-1.15pm: Wheelchair fencing at Makuhari Messe Hall B
• 9am-2.10pm: Equestrian at Equestrian Park
• 9am-12.40pm: Swimming at Tokyo Aquatics Centre
• 9.30am-1.55pm: Archery at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field
• 9.30am-1.45pm: Goalball at Makuhari Messe Hall C
• 9.30am-1.45pm: Wheelchair rugby at Makuhari Messe Hall C
• 10.30am-2pm: Sitting volleyball at Makuhari Messe Hall A
• 11am-2pm: Athletics at Olympic Stadium
• 12.30pm-2.15pm: Wheelchair basketball at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza & Ariake Arena
• 10.30pm-3.10pm: Triathlon at Odaiba Marine Park

The Olympic Stadium in Tokyo will play host to more moments of sporting drama when the Paralympic Games begin on 25 August following the opening ceremony.

The para athletics events will be held at the Olympic Stadium from 27 August with a packed schedule of heats and finals across both track and field events through until the final day of the Games on 3 September.

Like all sports at the Paralympics, para athletics uses classification to place athletes into categories based on the impact of their impairment. The codes used to display the classification are made up by a prefix and a number.

Find out all you need to know through our extensive article below.

Maria Lyle has won Team GB their first athletics medal of this year’s Paralympic Games with bronze in the T35 100 metres.

Will that get the ball rolling for more in the days to come?