Dame Sarah Storey claims 16th career gold at Tokyo Paralympics

Cyclist Storey, who is also the active transport commissioner for the Sheffield City Region, emulated the achievement of former swimmer Mike Kenny in a time of 36:08.90 on the Fuji International Speedway circuit.

Fellow GB rider Crystal Lane-Wright snatched silver in 37:40.89, with Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf taking bronze.

While Storey must wait until Thursday’s C4-5 road race for a chance to fully surpass 76-year-old Kenny, she is now already more successful owing to a total haul of 27 medals to his 18.

“I never set out on this journey to be Britain’s greatest Paralympian, but to match the best man and to have more other medals is just a dream come true – well, it is almost a dream that was not one,” she said.

“The closer we have got to Tokyo, the more it has been like: This is a possibility. It really could happen. You just don’t know.

“I am just so chuffed. I have been preparing for this for such a long time. It is such a sweet feeling.

“Sweet 16!! Can I be 16 again?!”.

The last of Kenny’s 16 titles and two silvers came in Seoul in 1988, four years before Storey kicked off her own Paralympic career as a 14-year-old swimmer in Barcelona.

She won five golds in the pool across four Games before a seamless transition to the bike ahead of Beijing 2008, which has brought even greater rewards.