This was by far the closest finish Storey has had in the Paralympic road race – she won by more than seven minutes in 2012 and more than three minutes in 2016.
It was a seven-second margin of victory three years ago in Tokyo, but here there were barely inches between her and second place.
But it reaffirms Storey’s status as Britain’s most successful Paralympian ever, and as one of the most decorated active Para-athletes.
She will be 50 by the next Paralympics, in 2028 in Los Angeles, but Storey has refused to rule out another golden tilt and a 10th Games.
“My glutes are on fire, I was creaking before the race, but that’s normal,” she said. “It’s about finding ways to manage the process and privilege of getting older as an athlete. I never envisioned eight Games, let alone nine.
“The key is not to be afraid to lose a race, I have to trust myself and go on instinct. I just wanted to see what I had to respond. I keep finding ways to win, long may that continue.”
On LA, she said: “I need to enjoy this one first, but never say never to anything. This just needs to sink in, it’s one of the best races we have had.”
There was another thrilling sprint finish, and another British gold, in the women’s B road race.
Dunlevy, the reigning Paralympic champion who had beaten Unwin to gold in the time trial two days prior, had led for the vast majority of the 99.4km course – but the 30-year-old Brit was always on her tail.
And with the finish line in sight, Unwin and Holl put the hammer down with a perfectly timed sprint for which the Irish riders had no answer.
It sparked wild and tearful celebrations from the British pair as they won by a three-second margin, with Unwin now the owner of six Paralympic medals from Tokyo and Paris.
“I’m always emotional! I’m surprised it has taken me this long to cry like that,” said Unwin. “It feels amazing, Jenny was incredible – she rode that race perfectly.
“We hoped for that [four medals], we knew we could but everyone always ups the standard for the Games, so we are glad to have managed it.”
“We’ve raced these girls a lot and we know they like to run solo,” Holl said of Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly. “But they never like to take us to a sprint finish. So all race it was about still being with them…. If we were with 500m to go, we knew we would be solid.”
While Storey and Unwin stood out, the GB men endured a difficult day in the road cycling events.
In the men’s C4-5, both Blaine Hunt and Archie Atkinson failed to finish the race. Hunt, a sprint specialist, pulled out after one lap of the seven-lap, 99.4km event having supported Atkinson through the start.
However Atkinson, who suffered a major crash during the final of his track event last week, struggled throughout and pulled out at about the halfway point of the race.
Earlier, Stephen Bate was forced to withdraw from the B road race as his pilot, Chris Latham, was unwell.
