Jeremy Campbell became the first-ever Paralympic athlete to throw more than 60m.
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Silver medallist Dan Greaves of Great Britain, gold medallist Jeremy Campbell of the United States and bronze medallist Farzad Sepahvand of the Islamic Republic of Iran pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's Discus Throw F44 final at the Paralympic Games in London
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Campbell made history in April 2012 when he became the first para-athlete to throw the discus over 60m. His throw of 60.19m at the Triton Invitational in California sent out a clear message to his rivals ahead of London 2012 that he was determined to retain the Paralympic title he had won in Beijing in 2008.
Born in 1987, Campbell made his international debut at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, the Netherlands as an all-round athlete. At the event he took silver in the pentathlon which consisted of the long jump, shot put, 100m, discus and 400m.
Two years later in Beijing he went one further and stood top of the podium after taking pentathlon gold. He also showed his talent for the discus F44 taking top spot with a throw of 55.08m.
At the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, Campbell was only able to manage silver in the discus. His throw of 53.40m was not good enough to beat Great Britain’s Dan Greaves who took gold with a word record 58.98m throw.
For the remainder of 2011 Campbell had to play second fiddle to Greaves who broke his own world record on two further occasions.
However, at the start of 2012 Campbell laid down the gauntlet to Greaves by throwing 60.19m to take the world record.
Then in June he extended the record further throwing 63.46m in Oklahoma, USA.
By the time London 2012 came around Campbell was well established as the world number one, but knew he would face a stiff challenge to beat Greaves who would benefit from significant home support in the Olympic Stadium.
In London, Campbell once again threw over 60m, this time landing 60.05m, to retain his Paralympic title. His throw was more than one metre ahead of Greaves who could only manage silver with 59.01m.
The two will go head-to-head again in Lyon, France at the the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships this July.
