Nottingham's Sophie Hahn optimistic about the future of racing after missing medal in Paris

Sophie Hahn hailed the future of T38 100m racing after finishing shy of the podium in Paris.

Nottingham's Hahn won gold in the event at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, setting a new world record of 12.38 in the Land of the Rising Sun.

But in the three years since, Hahn noted how her favoured event has catapulted forward with Columbia's Karen Tatiana Palomeque Moreno breaking Hahn's record and produced a new world best of 12.26 to take the crown in Paris.

Hahn was unable to produce a similar performance, crossing the line in 12.88 to take sixth and hand the baton over to a new future of the event.

“That was history, the T38 class has become so much stronger," said Hahn, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

"Huge congratulations to Karen, she was incredible, and I feel like if I can inspire the next generation then I can’t ask for more than that really. The future of the sport is really exciting."

Hahn's attention now turns to the universal relay on the 6th of September.

A mixed gender relay that sees each leg competed by a different classification, GB won the event at the recent world championship in Kobe and will be looking to finish on the podium once more in Paris.

And with Hahn in the fold, the 27-year-old is excited to see what she can achieve.

“I have the relay on Friday and hopefully I will come away with a medal.”

Teammate Maddie Down finished eighth in the women's 100m final after setting a personal best of 12.93s in her heat to qualify on her Paralympic debut.

And the 16-year-old was thrilled to have performed so well just days after she recieved her GCSE results.

"It feels pretty cool and a bit surreal," she said. "I wanted to make it, and I did.

"Coming in at 16, I've just finished my GCSE's but it's been a great experience and I'm still not done yet so we will just have to see what happens."

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