By Owen Morgan
A combination of pent up aggression and sticky tape saw Aled Davies through to winning his second gold medal of the World Para Athletics European Championships on Sunday.
The world record holder’s problem-plagued season continued as he snapped his leg brace during the men’s F63 shot put final in Berlin.
With the competition still in the balance, Davies was forced to improvise by carrying out an emergency repair job on the brace with some sticky tape.
His DIY skills certainly did the job and allowed him to use the frustration of a difficult season to help him clinch yet another gold medal with a championship best distance of 15.49m.
Afterwards Davies said: “When my leg brace snapped in the second round I thought ‘you have got to be kidding me?
“I was kind of panic stations – we joke about contingency plans if that happens because it has happened eight times this year, but it has never happened before then in my career.
“It snapped, unfortunately, in the second round so I got my tape out and I thought it’s not out of reach of these guys yet so I am going to have to keep battling on, hopping around.
“I gave it everything I had, it was just raw aggression that got through in the end. A very tough day at the office.”
Davies had considered not competing at these championships due to the problems he has been experiencing with his leg braces all season.
However, he leaves Germany with another double gold haul in the discus and the shot put – the third time he has completed the double at the European Championships.
Davies describes the medals as two of the most difficult golds he has collected in his illustrious career.
“If you listed down everything that could go down in four years, they all happened in the space of six months,” said the multiple paralympic and world champion.
“This year has definitely been tough. I didn’t want to just hand over the titles, I wanted to come here and give everything I have got and that’s what I did. It has taken a lot, it’s probably two of the hardest golds I have ever had to fight for.”
There was yet more Welsh gold on the final day of the championships as Laura Sugar triumphed as part of the GB team in the new Universal 4x100m relay event.
Sugar, who had already won two bronze medals at the championships, ran the second leg as GB came through to win in a new world record of 48.73
The Birchfield Harrier said afterwards: “I think this new event is fantastic. We are a team; we are obviously on the track as individuals normally, but we are all one big team so it is amazing to finish off with the relay with girls and boys and with all disabilities so it is fantastic.”
Fellow Welsh sprinter Jordan Howe, once again agonisingly missed out on a medal in the men’s T35 200m final.
Earlier in the championships Howe had been pipped to the tape in the 100m by Ihor Tsvietov.
And once again it was the Ukrainian, who claimed gold ahead of the Cardiff sprinter, who finished second in 27.04.
With only the two men once again in the final, there was only the gold up for grabs, leaving Howe empty handed for the second time.
However, the Christian Malcolm trained athlete was in upbeat mood after the final: “I am quite glad, quite proud. 200 metres is not my event so it was always going to be hard for myself.
“It was a good result, it was a good run. I thought I ran the first 100m okay, I tried to execute it on the bend a bit differently but it was an okay run.
“I know what Ihor is capable of, he is the fastest in the world and he has raced a lot of times this year whereas I haven’t. For me, I knew I was always going to catch from the start and obviously he was better than me.
“These championships have obviously been a mix of emotions. For me, having only two of us doesn’t change anything, I have still got to perform. He is the best, and I have proved here once again that I can compete with the best. I think that will be my last 200m – I am going to stick to the 100 metres going forward.”
It has been a hugely successful championships for the Great Britain team amassing a total of 50 medals – 17 of them gold.
The Welsh medal roll of honour:
Gold:
Hollie Arnold – F46 Javelin
Aled Davies – F63 Discus & Shot Put
Sabrina Fortune – F20 Shot put
Harri Jenkins – T33 100m
Laura Sugar – Universal 4x100m Relay
Silver:
Rhys Jones – T37 100m
Bronze:
Olivia Breen – T38 100m
Laura Sugar – T44/64 100m & 200m