Afghanistan veteran Curtis McGrath has surged to victory in the men's kayak single 200m KL2 final at the Tokyo Paralympics to defend the gold medal he won in Rio.
McGrath lost both his legs in 2012 after stepping on an explosive device while serving for Australia during its mission in Afghanistan.
The 33-year-old's Tokyo debut on Thursday didn't go to plan, with a rudder issue seeing him finish third in his heat. That forced him to qualify for Friday's final via a semi-final.
But after coolly cruising through the semi-final, recording a Paralympic best time of 41.134, the star Australian was primed to deliver in the final.
McGrath did just that.
After a hotly contested start, McGrath burst away from the field in the final 100m to claim gold by more than a full second (1.077 seconds), with a time of 41.426.
Ukrainian Mykola Syniuk won silver, with Italy's Federico Mancarella, who challenged McGrath early in the race, claiming bronze.
It means McGrath's campaign to win two gold medals in Tokyo is very much alive, with his VL3 200m final to come on Saturday.
McGrath started para-competition after his legs were amputated. The Australian powers across the water, and has won the last two world titles in the VL3 category and is the four-time defending champion in the KL2 class.
Also on Friday, Australia's Susan Seipel claimed a silver medal in the women's va'a single 200m VL2, adding to her KL2 Rio bronze medal.
Curtis McGrath of Australia celebrates after winning the Men's KL2 200 metre sprint Source: Sportsfile/Getty
Great Britain's Emma Wiggs won gold by more than four seconds with a time of 57.028 seconds.
Seipel crossed the line second in 1:01.481, holding off Great Britain's Jeanette Chippington.
Australia's Paige Greco also won her third cycling medal at her first Paralympics, claiming bronze in the women's C1-3 road race.
With AAP.
