Terrific 29 medals for GB at the World Para Athletics Championships
Just one year out from the Paralympic Games in Paris, the World Championships acted as a perfect taster of what is to come next year in the Charlety Stadium.
Surpassing previous medal highs, the British contingent certainly showed their dominance winning a total of 29 medals across the 10 days of competition.
‘Hurricane’ Hannah Cockroft (Leeds City, Paul Moseley) lived up to her nickname as she stormed to her 13th and 14th world titles in the T34 800m and T34 100m securing a new Championship record in the 100m (16.81).
“You think about it for so long and we have waited for these World Championships for so long – it has been four years since the last World Champs. Coming out [in the heats] I really wasn’t sure where my 100m was at. To come out with a Championship record – I know there is so much more to come – but I am dead happy.”
It was an English clean sweep in the T34 100m with Kare Adenegan (Coventry Godiva, Job King) finishing in 2nd (17.28) and teammate Fabienne André (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy) completing the women’s podium in 3rd (19.28).
In the men’s T64 high jump, Jonathan Broom-Edwards (Newham and Essex Beagles, Beth Partridge) displayed his dominance over this event, retaining his title in his first competition of the year. Struggling with a hamstring tear suffered just eight weeks ago, Broom-Edwards put the past behind him and delivered a sensational series of jumps, his best at 2.05m to share the gold with Maciej Lepiato of Poland.
“To get to the start line, I’m really proud. To be able to share it with someone who I’ve had this rivalry with for so many years, he’s the same age as me, we’re still here; I think it is poetic.”
The English dominance over the field events did not stop there, as Daniel Pembroke (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, David Turner) not only won gold in the F13 javelin with a throw of 70.50m, but he also set a brand-new European record on his World Champs debut!
““It’s incredible – I’m ticking all the boxes right now and everything seems to be going right. I got that second mark in of 70.50m and I didn’t even realise it had gone that far – it felt so easy, so I really feel there’s more in me. I think I’ve cracked the code for how I need to train this winter, so I feel confident going into next year.”
Matching his result in 2019, Rafi Solaiman (Phil Fleetwood, Charnwood) won silver in the new FrameRunning event in a new personal best time of 16.78 – his first time under 17 seconds and what a time to do it! Rafi finished just behind Scottish teammate Gavin Drysdale who set a new European record in the event (16.66).
Danny Sidbury (Sutton & District, Chris Parsloe) added to his Commonwealth Games silver of last summer, winning bronze in both the T54 5000m and 800m in very high-quality fields. Going after his second medal of the Champs in the 800m, Danny sat in 7th place after the first lap and with a tactical second 400m and incredible push going wide into the final straight, he managed to pip China’s Hu Yang to the podium by less than a tyre’s width as both athletes were awarded the same time (1:29.72).
Close finishes were a common scene throughout the ten days of competition, as Kevin Santos (Mike Utting, City of Norwich) managed to prevent a Brazilian clean sweep in the T47 100m, snatching the bronze medal in a time of 10.85, celebrating with a backflip alongside his competitor.
The medals continued to come in the 100m, with Cleethorpes’ Zac Shaw (Leon Baptiste) securing bronze in the T12 final. Competing at his third World Championships, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist ran a career best race, bettering his PB to 10.86.
Another two brilliant bronzes came in the women’s T38 sprints from Sophie Hahn (Charnwood, Leon Baptiste), who maintained her record of reaching the podium at the World Champs, running 12.73 in the 100m and 26.35 in the 200m.
Competing in his first Paralympic Games 21 years ago, co-Captain Dan Greaves (Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow, Zane Duquemin) put his experience in Championship competition to good use, throwing an impressive 57.92m in the fifth round of the F64 discus to squeeze himself into the medals where he remained for the rest of the competition.
The final day of competition in Paris did not disappoint, as Loughborough’s Zak Skinner (Aston Moore) won his first major global medal in the T13 long jump by just 2cm with a second-round best of 6.97m. After missing out on a podium place at the 2021 Paralympic Games by a similar 2cm, Zak put this behind him and leapt to his first world jumps medal.
All British Medallists
GOLD: [10] Gavin Drysdale [Men’s T72 100m], Jonathan Broom-Edwards [Men’s T64 high jump], Sabrina Fortune [Women’s F20 shot put], Hollie Arnold [Women’s F46 javelin], Hannah Cockroft [Women’s T34 100m, Women’s T34 800m], Sammi Kinghorn [Women’s T53 100m], Daniel Pembroke [Men’s F13 javelin], Ben Sandilands [Men’s T20 1500m], Aled Davies [Men’s F63 shot put]
SILVER: [8] Rafi Solaiman [Men’s T72 100m], Sammi Kinghorn [Women’s T53 800m, Women’s T53 400m], Kare Adenegan [Women’s T34 100m, Women’s T34 800m], Olivia Breen [Women’s T38 long jump], Michael Jenkins [Men’s F38 shot put], Universal 4x100m relay
BRONZE: [11] Zac Shaw [Men’s T12 100m], Danny Sidbury [Men’s T54 5000m, Men’s T54 800m], Maria Lyle [Women’s T35 200m, Women’s T35 100m], Sophie Hahn [Women’s T38 100m, Women’s T38 200m], Fabienne André [Women’s T34 100m], Dan Greaves [Men’s F64 discus], Zak Skinner [Men’s T13 long jump], Kevin Santos [Men’s T47 100m]