TWO athletes from Flintshire are celebrating gold medal success in the Paralympic games. 

Rhys Darbey and Sabrina Fortune both won gold in Paris on Sunday. 

Rhys, aged 16, won gold with the ParalympicsGB relay team in the S14 mixed 4x100m freestyle event. 

Rhys, from Connah's Quay, delivered a stellar performance, maintaining a lead throughout the race and concluding with a decisive victory, with Team GB securing the gold medal more than three seconds ahead of their closest competitors.

Great Britain's Willaim Ellard, Rhys Darbey, Poppy Maskill and Olivia Newman-Baronius celebrate with their gold medals after winning the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay, S14Great Britain's Willaim Ellard, Rhys Darbey, Poppy Maskill and Olivia Newman-Baronius celebrate with their gold medals after winning the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay, S14 (Image: Zac Goodwin / PA)

Rhys is part of the Flintshire-based Nofio Clwyd team and trains at Cambrian Aquatics in Connah's Quay.

Craig Breeze, Rhys’s coach at Cambrian Aquatics, said: "I am so proud. Watching him grow has been amazing, especially this year, where he has made huge strides both in swimming and from a personal growth perspective.

"His hard work and dedication to the sport is a testament to him, and he deserves all the recognition that comes along with that."

In celebration of this victory, discussions are underway with local authorities to commemorate this achievement with a gold post box in Connah’s Quay. This tradition is a proud symbol of Olympic and Paralympic success and serves as inspiration for the community.

Also winning gold was shot-putter Sabrina Fortune, from Mold. She smashed her own world record with a 15.12m throw. 

Sabrina had won bronze in Rio as a teenager but could only finish fifth in Tokyo in 2021.

Since then the 27-year-old shot-putter from said she had gone through some tough times before winning two world titles - the first in Paris last year and then retaining her crown in Kobe in May.

She broke the world record in Kobe, beating the old mark of 14.39m with 14.73, and then extended it by a further 10cm in a competition in Birmingham in July.

After setting out her stall in the opening round, she stayed ahead of the field with France's Gloria Agblemagnon coming closest with a new personal best of 14.43 and defending champion Polith Mendes Sanchez of Ecuador third (14.31).

Sabrina Fortune competing at the ParalympicsSabrina Fortune competing at the Paralympics (Image: PA)

"I was expecting about 14m on the first throw, just a simple throw and then I hit the world record," she said.

"I just wanted to jump up and down and celebrate right then and then I remembered I have five more throws after that and couldn’t do it yet.

"This a magical atmosphere. It’s like you’re walking into a world that is just crazy.

"The roar around you is deafening. I was so scared after watching it on TV the last four or five days, I was so scared of going out there, but it was so amazing. It’s something that I don’t think I’ll ever forget."