London 2017: History makers

A grand total of 33 new world records were set over the ten days of competition at the World Para Athletics Championships London 2017, which took place 14-23 July. This total represents all marks now ratified for that month.

In fact, there were 38 record marks, if you also include the four men’s events where the world record was broken more than once during the competition – the high jump T13, triple jump T20, shot put F43 and club throw F51.

Here are our top picks:

100m T38 – Sophie Hahn – 12.44

The 20-year-old Briton was in a class of her own in the T38 sprint events, the only female Para athlete to set two new world records on the London track.

In the 100m, Hahn defeated compatriot Kadeena Cox by half a second, then discovered she had knocked 0.16 seconds off her own world record.

Hahn also smashed the 200m T38 world record – her time of 26.11 beating Germany's Lindy Ave by almost a second and knocking 0.35 seconds off the world record previously held by Russian Margarita Goncharova.

200m T47 – Petrucio Ferreira – 21.21

Like Hahn, the Brazilian ended London 2017 as a double world record holder over 100m and 200m but in his case both records were already his own.

Ferreira snipped four hundredths off his own 100m T47 world record in the final where he beat compatriot Yohansson Nascimento and Poland's Michel Derus, crossing the line in 10.53.

It was the same story in the 200m – the same 1-2-3 and a new world record for Ferreira as he beat the record he set in São Paulo in 2015, this time by a margin of 0.28 seconds.

5000m T13 - Youssef Benibrahim - 14:20.69

The Moroccan's time of 14:20.69 was a massive 13-second improvement on the mark set by Tunisia’s Bilel Aloui at Rio 2016. To make matters worse for Aloui, he was beaten by Benibrahim in a sprint finish in London. It was Benibrahim’s first ever major title too.

Shot Put F38 – Cameron Crombie – 15.95m

Crombie showed how to handle the pressure of the big stage – competing at his first ever World Championships, the Australian was the first Para athlete to set a new world record back on day one of the championships. His throw of 15.95m was nearly half a metre further than the previous mark set by Egypt’s Ibrahim Abdelwareth back in 2011.

High jump T13 – Jean-Paul Isaac – 2.17m

The US multi-eventer arrived in London as the high jump T13 world record holder, having cleared 2.10m at the US Trials in June. The 24-year-old raised the bar a further three times at the World Championships, first clearing 2.11m, then 2.14 and finally a superb 2.17m.

Shot Put F42 - Aled Davies – 17.52m

Davies added a phenomenal 1.39m on to his previous world record mark with his second attempt in the shot put circle. It was clear the Welshman knew he had thrown big – as soon as the shot put left his hand, his face said it all. Davies has added nearly three metres on to his best since he first broke the world record back in 2013.

Javelin F44 – Akeem Stewart – 57.61m

The Trinidad and Tobago thrower is one of the most versatile Para athletes in the world and he underlined that with a throw of 57.61m to break his own javelin F43 world best – throwing from a stationary standing position. The 25-year-old describes javelin as a hobby but showed that he's still the number one, beating his own record by 29 centimetres which he set at the Rio Paralympics last year.

Stewart also broke the shot put F43 world record in London – adding a spectacular 4.87m on to the mark set by Germany’s Jorg Frischmann back in 1996.

Other world records broken at London 2017 in July included: Men’s 400m T13 - Mohamed Amguoun (MAR) – 46.92; men’s shot put F20 - Muhammad Zolkefli (MAS) -17.29m; men’s javelin F13 – Aleksandr Svechnikov – 71.01m; women’s 100m T34 – Hannah Cockroft (GBR) – 17.18; women’s 100m T44 – Sophie Kamlish (GBR) – 12.90; women’s discus F51 – Cassie Mitchell (USA) – 13.23m.