Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli

At the London 2017 World Championships, Zolkefli’s opening round effort of 17.29m smashed his previous world record mark set when he won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and proved enough to seal his second world title.

News of the Malaysian’s achievements in London quickly spread around the globe and footage of Zolkefli’s throw became World Para Athletics’ top Tweet of the championships, with over 7,000 reTweets and nearly 3,500 likes.

Zolkefli’s exploits were, in terms of social media engagement, the biggest moment of the championships.

The Malaysian first hit the headlines in 2016 when he won his country’s first ever Paralympic gold medal at the Rio Games with what was then a world record 16.84m.

An emotional Zolkefli wept tears of joy as the realisation of his victory sank in; his medal ceremony was equally moving.