On a sun-soaked morning in Berlin, Aled Davies captured his third consecutive European discus title, winning the F63 event in a Championship record of 50.55m to kick off day four at the World Para Athletics European Championships.
For Aled Davies, he is aiming for the Triple Double of discus and shot put European titles after winning both in Swansea and Grosseto, and he is halfway there after his efforts in Berlin.
He broke the previous Championship record on five of his six throws, the other one a foul. He opened with a mark of 47.93m and led from then on, with efforts of 49.61m in round three and 49.73m in round five consolidating his lead.
With victory confirmed after the silver medallist Tom Habscheid’s (LUX) last throw did not exceed Davies’s best, the Welshman unleashed the throw of his series with the 50.55m mark.
After leaving the field, he said: “It’s been a tough year. We saw this year as one to kind of experiment, kind of minimise my disability to throw further, but a lot of those haven’t worked, unfortunately, so I haven’t had a consistent technical block. For me, 50m, considering the circumstances, I have to be happy. I am not sure how I won, I wasn’t the best man, they missed an opportunity there because it is the closest they will ever get to me.
“This year has been such a tough year. I haven’t competed that much. I decided that if I sat at home and kind of give up a title without a fight, I would probably regret it. I came here, I threw everything I had. 50m is unfortunately where I am at, but it was good enough for me. I can’t believe I won to be honest, but I will take the win with both hands. Every time you put on the British vest it is an absolute honour and I always go out there to do my country proud.”
Looking ahead to the future, Davies continued: “Tokyo is the event for me. Now we have experimented, we have tried all the avenues, we know what works, we know what we got to play with. I am strong enough now to throw a long, long way, it’s getting that technical work in and making sure I am the best technically I can be. We will aim towards that 20-metre barrier in the shot and I want to get as close if not over the 60-metre barrier in the discus.
Steve Morris made easy work of progressing through his T20 800m heat, powering to the front and running a smooth race to qualify for the final in 2:00.21. Final takes place tonight at 17.43 (UK Time).
Rhys Jones goes in the T37 100m heats at 10.02, hoping to get into the final at 17.31 this evening.