Aled Davies today won Britain’s first Paralympic medal in the Olympic stadium as he claimed shot put bronze.
The Welsh sports management student, 21, praised an “electric” capacity crowd of 80,000 on the first day of track and field.
Davies, born with bone, muscle and ligaments missing from his lower right leg, holds the world record in the F42-44 category and won bronze with a throw of 13.78 metres, with gold going to Denmark’s Jackie Christiansen.
Davies, who will also compete in Sunday’s discus event, said: “The crowd were pushing me on so much that I had to slow down my technique. The adrenaline was going through the roof.
“It’s my first Games and I wanted to do the team proud. I’m really confident for the discus on Sunday. It’s my main event and I know I can perform — I can’t wait to get back into the stadium for it.” Meanwhile, British T34 category wheel-chair sprint favourite Hannah Cockroft, 20, broke the Paralympic record when she qualified for tonight’s 100m final with a time of 18.24 seconds.
