Aled wants more after record show
CONFIDENCE is restored for Aled Davies, but the Welsh discus thrower is desperate for more despite breaking the World Para Athletics European Championship record.
This year has been little short of chaotic for Davies, doubting if he would even come to Berlin having struggled to find a leg brace that provided both comfort and performance.
But with a European title to defend he eventually couldn’t resist, easing to F63 discus gold with an effort of 50.55 metres from the very last throw of the competition.
It proved more than four metres ahead of a field that was expected to provide a stern test for a Welshman who was as surprised as anyone to take his place atop the podium.
“It’s been a tough year,” admitted Davies, who was born with hemimelia of the right leg.
“We saw this year as one to kind of experiment, kind of minimise my disability to throw further by trying different braces for my leg, 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.
“I knew you had to go backwards to go forwards but I didn’t realise how far back, I can throw 54m and we’ve realised the system we had originally was the best thing for me.
“My coach and I are confident now, we know what we can work with and now we can throw far, we’ve got the equipment for the job but now it’s about the technique.”
The hard work is just beginning for Davies, with next year’s World Championships in Dubai and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games firmly in his mind.
Before that comes the F63 shot put final on Sunday in Berlin, an event he goes into as favourite having become Paralympic champion at Rio 2016.
But rather than the competition, it’s a number on the scoreboard that is dominating the Welshman’s mind, though he doesn’t expect it to come before he leaves Germany.
“Every major event and every competition is a real honour and I want to go out there and do my country proud,” he added.
“My shot put is the focus, discus is something we play about with, and I’m in a similar boat – I’m at a pretty decent standard and even a bad day can get me 15 metres.
“I threw a world record 17.52m last year but we’re just scratching at the surface, my main aim is to throw that shot put over 20m.
“This is only my eighth session with this leg set-up, by December I’ll be flying and it’s about looking at the big picture and giving a slow and technical build-up to Dubai next year. 20.20m in 2020 would be nice.” ■