Aled Davies

Davies won the shot put and discus F42 at the London 2017 World Championships – successfully notching up a hat trick of golden doubles, having also topped the podium in both events at the previous two World Championships.

There’s no doubt the Welshman has enjoyed terrific form in recent years, breaking multiple world records in both the discus and shot put, as well as winning gold at the last two Paralympic Games – discus F42 gold at London 2012 and shot put F42 gold Rio 2016. He also won double gold at both the 2014 and 2016 European Championships.

When it comes to throwing, he is the man to beat.

Davies’ potential was clear from an early age - even as a junior, he was a consistent performer, finishing on the podium at the IWAS World Junior Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Davies first broke the world record at the Lyon 2013 World Championships, where he threw 14.71m in the shot put.

In 2015, with a new coach - former Welsh national shot put champion Ryan Spencer-Jones - and a new training regime, Davies kicked off the season with new world records in the shot put and discus at the Dubai Grand Prix in UAE.

His winning ways continued throughout the year, culminating in two World Championship gold medals in Qatar. His new regime – which saw the Welshman ‘rebuild’ his body and lose four stone – was certainly proving successful.

He extended his world records again in 2016 ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games where he won shot put F42 gold, finishing more than 1.5m clear of his rivals.

At London 2017, he added a phenomenal 1.39m on to his previous world record mark with his second attempt in the shot put circle, while in the discus he threw a new championship record 51.54m.

He was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year’s Honours List.