The 19-year-old from Northampton won her heat in the women’s 200m medley SM6, ahead of fellow British swimmers Grace Harvey and Ellie Simmonds.

All three are likely to make the final based on their times.

Summers-Newton, 19, who has achondroplasia, the same condition as Simmonds, lined up in the same heat as her idol as they both aim for gold.

The US won gold medals in both the men’s and women’s competition in Rio 2016 and are hoping to defend their titles.

The country’s Paralympians won six gold medals, one silver and three bronzes on the opening day of events at the Tokyo Games.

Karimi, who was born without arms, left Afghanistan eight years ago to follow his Paralympic dream.

And after first going to Iran he ended up in Turkey, where he continued to train despite living in a string of refugee camps.

The 24-year-old then connected with Mike Ives, a retired wrestling and football coach in Portland, Oregon, and he helped him resettle in the US as a refugee in 2016.

Now he is competing in Tokyo for the Refugee Para Team.

He told The New York Times that competing against the backdrop of what was happening in the country was “very, very hard.”

Ellie Simmonds, who will get underway in her Women’s SM6 200m individual medley heat at around 1.30am, insists she’s taking a more holistic approach to her fourth Paralympic Games.

The five-time swimming gold medallist, who became the face of British para sport at just 13 years old, admitted she’d almost decided to retire before the Rio Games due to the weight of pressure and expectation.

But now 26, she’s adjusted to cope with the demands placed on her and says she has a fresh perspective ahead of her attempt to win further gold in Tokyo.

“There are pros and cons as an older woman now,” she said. “I am thankful to have gone to four Games and in Beijing I was 13, a kid really. And when I look at 13-year-olds now, I think wow you’re young.

“I feel the pressure more now, I am more aware of that than as a 13-year-old or 17-year-old, when you just do swimming and don’t think about the outside bits.

“I am more aware of those types of challenges and I work with a psychologist really well. So, for me, these Games are about going out there, racing and focussing on being happy and enjoying it.

“I am just soaking it all in, it is a Paralympics at the end of the day, it only happens every four years.”

Dame Sarah Storey hailed her absent young family as the “biggest motivation” after kick-starting her mission to become Britain’s most successful Paralympian by storming to her country’s first gold of the Tokyo Games.

Cyclist Storey smashed her own C5 3000m individual pursuit world record in qualifying by more than four seconds before mercilessly hunting down compatriot Crystal Lane-Wright in a one-sided repeat of the Rio 2016 final.

Wednesday’s breathtaking victory inside an empty Izu Velodrome moved the relentless 43-year-old on to 15 career golds – one behind behind British record holder Mike Kenny – with two road events to come next week.

Storey was visibly emotional following a familiar trip to the top of the podium as she contemplated husband Barney, eight-year-old daughter Louisa, three-year-old son Charlie and her parents being back home because of coronavirus restrictions.

She highlighted the ongoing sacrifices made by those closest to her, while holding back tears as she spoke of the challenges of balancing elite sport with attempting to be the “best mum in the world”.

“It’s hugely difficult. It is really, really hard,” she said. “I FaceTimed them last night. You know they are the biggest motivation. It is harder now because you can’t see them and share it with them, and all of the things they put up with. They came into a bubble with me (in England) to enable me to do this.

“Your own personal targets are nothing to shy away from. If you want to do things and can have the right support to do them, it’s possible. But equally you also want to be the best mum in the world and that is why not having them here makes it so hard.

“I am only an athlete for a few hours a day. You’re a mum 24/7. That is why leaving them and not having him here, not being able to pick them up when they have wobbles…they are picking me up probably more than I am them, which doesn’t feel like it is the right way round. I feel hugely grateful that they have given me this opportunity and it was their decision that I came without them. I gave them a choice.”

Away from the velodrome and pool, table tennis star Will Bayley made a strong start to the defence of his Paralympic class seven title earlier today.

The 33-year-old, who recovered from a serious knee injury suffered on Strictly Come Dancing to be at the delayed Games, wrapped up a 3-1 qualifying win over Poland’s Maksym Chudzicki.

He edged the opening game of the Group B encounter 13-11 and, after losing the second 11-8, regained his composure to complete the job with 11-3 and 11-8 successes.

Lee Pearson, the Godfather of para dressage, has his eyes on gold once again.

“I believe in fate and fate has brought me here,” he told Charlie Bennett. “Never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think I’d go to Sydney [2000]. Never did I think I would get a medal, and never did I think I would get a gold medal, and never did I think that I would get three gold medals and then go on to do that at subsequent Games.

“I’m much more excited than I was for Tokyo. I was a bit unsure with everything going on around the world, but now I just want to get out there, get my pony out there, and get down the centre line of a dressage arena.

“It’s going to be very tough psychologically with the restrictions and with the humidity and heat, but myself and these guys are very experienced in different climates and different situations.

“Our experience should be an advantage, but we need to turn that advantage into medals – and preferably gold medals.”

Battling Crohn’s disease, Ali Jawad defied the odds to reach his fourth Paralympic Games. Vithushan Ehantharajah has spoken to the powerlifter every month throughout the pandemic to chart his remarkable journey to Tokyo.

Dame Sarah Storey began her quest to become Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian by smashing her own world record en route to stylishly retaining C5 3000m individual pursuit gold.

In a repeat of the all-British Rio 2016 final, Storey once more got the better of compatriot Crystal Lane-Wright.

The relentless defending champion laid down a marker earlier on day one of Tokyo 2020 by shaving more than four seconds of her own world record in qualifying, powering over the line in 3:27.057

She did not need to repeat the trick in the deciding race at the Izu Velodrome as she remarkably caught Lane-Wright inside eight laps following a rapid start, leaving her rival to settle for another silver.

In winning her country’s first gold of the Games, Storey took her total haul to 15 Paralympic golds - one short of swimmer Mike Kenny’s British record - and a phenomenal 26 medals overall.

The 43-year-old will have a chance to surpass Kenny next week when she attempts to defend her C5 time trial and C4-5 road race crowns.

“For me as an individual, I’ve won a medal at every single Games I’ve been to and this is my fourth time winning the individual pursuit in a row,” she told Channel 4.

“I broke the world record in Beijing, in London, in Rio, this morning, so for me it’s been quite overwhelming to try and keep backing that up and keep pushing on the pedals to go faster and faster.

“I never expected to go as quick as I did this morning but I’m so glad that I did.”