Aled Davies Says London Double Is Better Than Rio

Aled Davies believes his second gold medal at the World Para-athletics Championships has eclipsed his efforts in Rio last year.

Davies smashed the world record on his way to a winning the F42 shot put in London on Saturday night.

He threw a World Championships record of 16.02 metres in his first attempt and followed it up with a world record throw of 17.52m.

The 26-year-old from Bridgend – who wants to compete for Wales’ able-bodied team at the Commonwealth Games – had already claimed gold in the F42 discus. This is the third time in a row Davies has triumphed in both events at the competition.

Iran’s Sajad Mohammadian won silver with a throw of 14.44m, while German Frank Tinnemeier was third.

Davies was born with talipese and hemi-hemilia, which means his right leg is missing bones, muscle and ligaments.

He has focused on shot put recently, after discus was dropped for Rio 2016.

But victory in the shot put in London completed his triple double by claiming the discus and shot put titles at three consecutive Worlds.

“No offence to Rio [de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Paralympics], this for me was bigger than Rio,” said Davies.

“I told my coach at the start of the year that I wanted to throw a PB [personal best] and a world record and won gold in front of the home crowd and I did it.

“As soon as that second throw left my fingers I knew that I’d done it. I’ve been working so hard and I am so happy to be able to throw a world record. Everyone knows how hard I’ve worked.”