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5 Facts: USA's Roderick Townsend-Roberts
Paralympic multi-event champion eyeing world gold at London 2017. 06 Jul 2017
Roderick Townsend-Roberts of United States competes during the Men's Long Jump T47 final at Olympic Stadium on day 7 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
US multi-eventer Roderick Townsend-Roberts is soaring high - the 25-year-old won high jump and long jump T47 Paralympic gold last year and now has his sights set on the top of the podium at the World Para Athletics Championships which start on 14 July. Here’s what you need to know:
Five Facts About Roderick Townsend-Roberts
1) Townsend-Roberts, who stands 6’7” (2.01m) tall, sustained permanent nerve damage to his right arm and shoulder at birth.
2) He started athletics in 2011 as a decathlete; he also captained his high school American football team.
3) The American began competing in Para athletics in 2015 – he won high jump T47 gold plus long jump and triple jump silver at the World Championships the same year.
4) Townsend-Roberts works as a jumps coach at Northern Arizona university.
5) He set a new world record of 2.13m in April 2017 – “I cleared that by a whole bunch – I was more upset that I didn’t clear 2.18m, I just nicked it off with my heel at the last minute.”
