Paralympic Games: Jonnie Peacock | Hannah Cockroft

Published on 08/09/2012 02:21

NEVER let it be said Britain’s Paralympians are not on message when it comes to the Games sponsors.

Uppermost in the minds of athletes Jonnie Peacock and Hannah Cockroft after winning gold on Thursday night was fast food. When asked yesterday what had happened in the hours since his win, Peacock said: “A McDonald’s has happened. A much-needed McDonald’s. A Chicken Legend. Chicken nuggets as well, so I was thinking about the protein still. And I was a good boy. I had a banana. A balanced meal. I’m not a big fan of the fries.” Cockroft, meanwhile, indulged in a McFlurry ice-cream live on Channel 4’s The Last Leg. “I’ve been waiting a long time for that,” she said, although she declined to have a second when she went to a chain of the fast-food giant with her friends. “I’d get brain freeze off that,” she added.

• Jonnie Peacock has been one of the big Twitter hits of the Games. He has seen his follower numbers rise by 500 per cent during the Games and is now the second most followed British Paralympian after swimmer Ellie Simmonds. Wheelchair racer David Weir, cyclist Sarah Storey and table tennis player Will Bayley complete the top five. By yesterday afternoon, Peacock had passed the 20,000-follower mark, but he still had some way to go to catch Oscar Pistorius. The man he beat in Thursday night’s T44 100m has nearly ten times that amount.

• Speedy Mexican Jorge Gonzalez Sauceda was not content with just his country’s flag on his lap of honour on Thursday night.

Not afraid of playing up to stereotypes, the 18-year-old bronze medallist in the T12 400 metres, also donned a large sombrero.

• Josue Cajuste had a harder task than most in the javelin yesterday morning. While his rivals could focus on hurling the spear as far as they could, the Haitian was still getting used to his new leg. The 28-year-old, who finished in 11th place, had to have a new prosthetic limb fitted on the eve of the competition after he was reclassified from the F44 to the F42 class.