Aled Davies brings home Britain’s first Paralympic athletics medal

Team GB shot-putter Aled Davies brings home a bronze, kick-starting the athletics medal score...

11:03 04 September 2012

Athlete Aled Davies won Britain its first athletics medal in the London 2012 Paralympics when he bagged bronze for his shot-put event. 

 

The 21-year-old sportsman, who represented Britain in the F42/44 shot put event, sparked delightful roars from the crowd at the Olympics Stadium with his victory.

 

Davies clinched his win with an impressive throw of 13.78 metres. 

 

In total he received 961 points, just 26 points behind Croatia’s silver medallist Darko Kralj. The gold medal was brought home by Jackie Christiansen from Denmark.

 

Davies’ longest throw was also his sixth and final attempt, although he was already in the winning spot with his third-round throw of 13.63 metres. 

 

Davies was met with thunderous applause when he came to receive his medal, as reported by the Mail Online.

 

“As soon as I came out of that tunnel the whole stadium erupted. They didn’t know who I was but I was competing for Great Britain and everyone started screaming.”

 

The athlete, who debuted in the Paralympics this year, has dabbled in several sports including discus, his main event at the Paralympics.

 

He has also represented Wales in the past at various swimming events. 

 

Not only is Davies’ victory a success story because he bagged the first medal for Britain at the Paralympics, but also for personal reasons.

 

Welshman Davies was born with talipese and hemi-hemilia in his right leg, a condition where the limb is missing bones, muscle, and ligaments and is only supported by a brace.