Leah Langely discusses the Para-Athletics World Championships in stead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
This year’s Para-Athletics World Championships were held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from the 7thNovember 2019 through to the 15thNovember 2019. It was the 9thedition of the event and was the biggest to have ever taken place, in terms of participation, with more than 1.500 athletes competing from 122 countries.
China topped the medals table for the third consecutive championships after winning 25 Gold, 23 Silver, and 11 Bronze medals and they also broke 8 world records whilst India had their best-ever medal haul at a Para-Athletics meet. 43 new world records were set which is 9 more than at the previous World Championships in London 2017.
There were new individual and relay events added at the championships with USA winning Gold in the first ever universal 4x100m relay. Great Britain’s Gavin Drysdale and Kayleigh Haggo set new World Records to win the first RR3 Men’s and Women’s 100m with fellow team mates Ellie Simpson and Rafi Solaiman coming away with Silver behind them both. Shahrad Nasajpour was the sole representative of the Refugee Para Team and finished 7thin the men’s F37 discus throw which is the best result ever recorded for a refugee athlete at a major Para-Athletics event. Petrucio Ferreira, of Brazil, broke the men’s T47 100m World Record setting the fastest time ever at a World Para Athletics Championships whilst Johannes Floors, of Germany, became the fastest blade runner in history with a new World Record of 10.55 in the T62 100m.
Great Britain didn’t disappoint with an incredible medal haul of 13 Gold, 9 Silver and 6 Bronze medals. Hannah Cockroft retained her T34 800m title as well as winning the T34 100m title. Sophie Hahn broke her own World Record to win her 4thstraight T38 100m title before improving on another of her World Records to win T38 200m gold. New, first-time, father Aled Davies won his 4thconsecutive World title in the F63 shotput with a throw of 15.32m whilst Hollie Arnold won her 4thconsecutive World title in the F46 Javelin. Jonathan Broom-Edwards won his first World title in the T64 High Jump, whilst Maria Lyle won her first titles in the T35 100m and 200m events and Sabrina Fortune won F20 Shot Put Gold.
The Championships were the most well-received they have ever been, and they have got people talking ready for the Paralympics in Tokyo next year.
