More Gold to Turner at World Para Athletics Championships
Published Fri 15 Nov 2019
More Gold to Turner at World Para Athletics Championships
The flawless performance of James Turner at the World Para Athletics Championships, continued on day eight as he won his second gold medal and claimed another world record. Although based in Canada Guy Henly showed he has been maintaining his form winning his fourth consecutive medal at the world championships. NSW athletes closed the world championships with two gold and three bronze medals.
After cursing his T36 cerebral palsy class 400m heat in 55 seconds, James Turner (WOL) faced the challenge in the final of Russian world record holder Evgenil Shvetsov, who set his record of 53.31 at the London Paralympics seven years ago. Would he be a factor in 2019? He sure was, going under his own world record with a time of 53.18 seconds, but James Turner was even better, taking the race in a stunning 51.71 seconds, by nearly 1.5 seconds and 1.59 seconds under the old world record.
“I’ve done my job so I’m quite satisfied with that. The 51.71 seconds is a PB, great time, very happy with it,” Turner told Athletics Australia.
In less than three years, since he departed the Pararoos (Para soccer team), Turner has won seven gold medals from seven events at global meets (2016 Paralympics, 2017 & 2019 world championships) and set five world records and now holds every T36 world record from 100m to 800m.
For former Sydney-based discus throw, Guy Henly (HIL) it was his fourth consecutive medal in the F37 cerebral palsy class discus, with a tally now of two silver and two bronze. His bronze in Dubai was earned with a mark of 51.43m.
“When you look at that, it makes me feel like it’s been a long time (competing),” he said.
“The key is not thinking about other people’s throwing but to run my own race so to speak. I just stayed in my own bubble and think about the queues from training, like grind my foot in the circle and then rip it. It really paid off.”
Henly threw the same distance as the silver medallist and the gold was just over a metre ahead.
“I wasn’t disappointed. It was a really tough and close competition. It’s a privilege to compete for Australia and get a medal.”
With four medals at the world championships, the one to have eluded him is the Paralympics.
“It gives me a stepping stone to the next (Paralympics). I was in Rio and got fourth so it would be really nice to back this up and do well in Tokyo.”
Three NSW athlete competed in the Universal mixed 4x100m relay. Wheelchair T54 athlete Luke Bailey, T36 CP sprinter Tamsin Colley and T64 leg amp jumper Sarah Walsh, joined Canberra’s Chad Perris to placed fourth in their heat in 51.41.
David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Universal relay Luke Bailey, Tamsin Colley, Chad Perris & Sarah Walsh (Image courtesy if Athletics Australia)
