Iraqi athlete Ahmed Naas cart-wheeled in celebration on Friday as he broke the men’s F40 Paralympic javelin record but his new world best was still not enough to secure him gold.
With his fifth attempt in the competition, the 20-year-old from Nasiriyah, about 225 miles southeast of Baghdad, threw 43.27m, breaking his own world record, which he marked by performing a triple cart-wheel. But his celebrations were premature, as China’s Wang Zhiming launched a 47.95m throw to shatter the world record and claim the title.
Naas’ teammate Wildan Nukhailawi took bronze. The men celebrated with a lap of honour draped in the red, white and black flag of Iraq, with Naas, who has dwarfism, lifted onto his compatriot’s shoulders. Their efforts took Iraq’s overall medal tally to three, after Farisal Ajeeli won silver in the men’s +100kg powerlifting.
Wang, who has also won the F40 shot put and discus, was one of two in the javelin for China, after Fu Lanlong took the F42 competition for leg amputees, also with a new world best of 52.79m. Kamran Shokrisalari of Iran took silver, with Norway’s Runar Steinstad getting the bronze.
Pistorius loses ‘Battle of the Blade Runners’
Meanwhile, Britain’s Jonnie Peacock sprinted to glory in the Paralympics’ showpiece final, stripping ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius of another title with a lightning-quick 100m.
The 19-year-old, who holds the world record of 10.85 seconds, again proved he is the fastest amputee runner in the world by taking gold at the Olympic Stadium in east London in a new Paralympic record of 10.90s.
Pistorius was just out of the medals in fourth, clocking 11.17s behind compatriot Arnu Fourie, who took bronze in 11.08s and US sprinter Richard Browne, who won silver in 11.03s.
A stunned Peacock described his win as ‘amazing’, while the South African star was magnanimous in defeat and said the Briton’s performance was just the start of a stellar career.
“I can’t imagine how happy he must be to do this in front of his home crowd,” he told Channel 4. “Well done, it’s a great time for him. He’s still young and he’s got a great future ahead of him.”
Organisers had billed the T44 race for single and double below-the-knee amputees as the race of the Games. Peacock, a single leg amputee, trained by Dan Pfaff who coached Canada’s Donovan Bailey to Olympic 100m glory in 1996, signalled his intent in Thursday’s heats by equalling the Paralympic record of 11.08s.
Pistorius, the T44 100m, 200m and 400m champion in Beijing, had warned that he was not favourite for the straight sprint, as he was a one-lap specialist.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2012.
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