Welsh athletes dominated at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon this weekend. Gold medal performances and world records came in the form of Aled Sion Davies and Josie Pearson in their respective disciplines.
Saturday saw Davies, who wanted ‘not just to win but dominate’ at the World Championships keep to his word. The 22 year old, Bridgend born Paralympian, broke the world record with a throw of 14.71 metres in the F42 Shot-putt to see him take the Gold medal. Earlier in the day, Nathan Stephens gave a strong performance in the F57/58 Javelin; with a seasons’ best throw of 39.86 metres, he finished a respectable fifth place in a tough merged classification.
The second day of competition delivered more knock out performances, this time from 26 year old, Josie Pearson. The Hay-on-Wye resident broke no less than three world records, leaving her comfortably in Gold medal position with a throw of 7.06 metres.
The third medal of the weekend came from Kyron Duke; the 21 year old took bronze in the F41 Shot-put in a closely fought battle to secure podium position. Rhys Jones took third place in the semi-final of the T37 100m, with a personal best time of 11.82 seconds; the 19 year old will compete in the final later today. 16 year old, Olivia Breen came fifth in the T38 200m semi final with a time of 30.43 seconds, which sees her also qualify for the final.
Disability Sport Wales, Performance Manager, Anthony Hughes commented, "It’s a great feeling knowing that your athletes are continually improving and performing at such significant events like the IPC Athletics World Championships. I am delighted with the performances so far and I am confident that there is still a lot more to come over the next week".
