He triumphed in the men's C5 kilo with a time 1min 07.615sec, an amazing performance from the 25-year-old former RAF weapons technician, who lost his left arm in a rocket attack on Basra Air Station in Iraq in August 2007.

Butterworth still had to watch 23 riders compete over the next hour but no other competitor came close, not even Britain's Paralympic champion Mark Bristow, holder of the previous world record he had smashed.

Overwhelmed by the effort and the scale of his achievement, Butterworth had to be helped help off his bike after he crossed the finish line.

"When I started off, I didn't know much about velodrome cycling, let alone the Paralympics," Butterworth said.

"Getting involved in cycling has helped me physically as I was getting fat and it helped me lose weight.

"Mentally, it helped me focus on something else.

"I left the forces last year so it has given me something to channel my energy into.

"If I wasn't doing this I would probably be sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle on television, doing nothing and dossing about with no direction."

Earlier, another war veteran Terry Byrne had come close to pulling off a major upset in the C4 kilo.

He had set a strong time of set a strong time of 1:07.694 only to see teammate Jody Cundy beat him and force him to settle for the silver medal. 

Byrne, a 26-year-old former army corporal trod on an improvised explosive device out on night patrol with the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan that damaged his right leg and arm and resulted in a below-the-knee amputation, appeared likely to take gold with the performance.

But despite racing two pursuits on day one of the event Cundy, the 32-year-old world and Paralympic champion from Cambridgeshire, rose to the occasion by beating his own world record mark with a time of 1:05.144 and relegating Byrne to silver.

"I didn't know how much the pursuit had taken out of me, but it all turned out well in the end," said Cundy (pictured).

"I might have had a bit more left in me but I didn't want to kill myself, as I've still got to do the team sprint tomorrow."


Cundy was actually very lucky to be allowed to race in his white racing leg after the UCI decided that his new white costume paint job is too similar to the World Championship jersey and it was eventually deemed that he can only wear it in events where he is the current world champion.

In the women's C5 pursuit Sarah Storey, who is looking to compete at both the Olympics and Paralympics at London 2012, once again delivered for Britain as she destroyed American opponent Greta Neimanas in a gold ride off in the final.

The 33-year-old from Manchester, who claimed five Paralympic golds as a swimmer before switching to cycling, is currently part of the Olympic and Paralympic British squads but Paralympic coach Chris Furber is confident Storey will be able to cope with the time demands of both.

"Sarah is a very dedicated rider, as everyone knows, and when she sets her heart on something she usually achieves it," he said.

"She is very determined and has worked hard and knows what she wants to be.

"She always produces good results and is a racer who peaks well for events.

"It is just a juggling act for us to make sure she can get the most out of both the able-bodied and Paralympic programmes."

Britain's fourth gold medal came in the men's C3 kilo when Darren Kenny produced a winning ride of 1:11.293.

Rik Waddon followed closely behind with 1:11.733 to take the silver and make it a very successful event so far for the British team.

On the opening day of the championships, Britain won seven medals, two of which were gold, and with one day left of the competition they will be looking to go out on a high with the London 2012 Paralympics looming ever closer.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]

Pictures courtesy of British Cycling

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