Mickey Bushell eyeing a golden Paralympics double

The Shropshire ace made up for the agony of finishing second four years ago with an emphatic victory at the Olympic Stadium.

But the 22-year-old is hoping to make it a double triumph when he goes in the 200m on Friday.

"It was fantastic, it went a lot better than I thought and it was pretty much as I imagined it from start to finish," said Bushell, from Telford. "The crowd was fantastic and it definitely pushed me on and made a big difference.

"Gold was the only thing I wanted. I knew I had to work for it and it's been a long hard four years.

"I've got another race to go yet so I won't be celebrating too much just yet.

"The 100m is definitely my strongest event so this was the one that I was targeting and this was the one that I wanted.

"I didn't hear the crowd in the race, I was just focusing on what I was doing. I got a good start and pulled ahead and I was just happy to stay there in front."

A bicep-bulging start pushed Bushell - who was born at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with a rare condition that means he is 'missing' seven vertebrae from the lower part of his back - into the lead.

At halfway the world record holder could taste gold and he did not let up, cruising over the line in 14.74 seconds.

Bushell's gold medal was Great Britain's third in the Olympic Stadium at the London 2012 Paralympics.

On Friday, Hannah Cockroft captured 100m gold while, less than 24 hours before Bushell's victory, David Weir won his third Paralympic title with a memorable 5000m victory.

And Bushell revealed he owed Weir a debt of gratitude.

"I watched Dave Weir and I was bouncing off the balls in my room, it has been an inspiration to see Great Britain winning athletics gold medals," he added.

"Dave has been massive as a team-mate. He was there for me in Beijing even though he had lots to worry about himself. He's a fantastic role model."