Polish shot putter Bartosz Tyszkowski was one of four athletes to break a world record on the opening day of action at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics European Championships in Italian city Grosseto.
The 22-year-old threw a massive 13.64 metres on his way to winning the F40/41 crown, adding 21 centimetres on to the previous best global mark he set at last year’s IPC Athletics World Championships in Qatar’s capital Doha.
Victory at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium secured a second consecutive continental title for the F41 world champion.21
“I feel very good, I was expecting to set a new world record because of my hard training,” said Tyszkowski.
“I’m happy with my gold, and I also expected it because I trained a lot – and hard – every day.”
World silver medallist Niko Kappel of Germany had to settle for the runners-up spot with a throw of 13.23m, while bronze went to Russia’s Dmitry Dushkin with an F40 world record of 10.83m.
Dushkin’s throw added 17cm on to the previous global mark set by Iraq’s Garrah Tnaiash at Doha 2015.
“I really did want to perform my best today, and I was expecting such a result [setting his personal best and a new world record],” he said.
“I could have done even better than that, but I kept my very best for the Paralympics in Rio.
“I have my own programme of training and I feel like I can even go for 11 metres.”
In the afternoon session, Russia’s Evgenii Torsunov added 12cm on to his previous long jump T36 world record with a leap of 5.93m in the second round.
Torsunov broke the world record four times in the run up to last year’s World Championships, where he clinched his first global title.
The 25-year-old’s compatriot Sofia Oksem also set a world record, adding eight centimetres on to her shot put F12 global mark to take gold with a final round effort of 13.68m – nearly two metres clear of her rivals.
Victory for the 22-year-old world silver medallist saw her improve on the bronze she won at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea.
World record holder Vanessa Low of Germany had earlier set a new championship record as she leapt an impressive 4.71m to take gold in the women’s long jump T42-44.
Home favourite Martina Caironi made a promising return from injury, finishing second with 4.48m – just 12cm shy of her personal best.
Bronze went to French T44 world champion Marie-Amelie Le Fur with a T44 championship record of 5.69m.
World champion Siarhei Burdukou of Belarus continued his domination of the men’s high jump T12 as he safely defended his European title, clearing a personal best 1.90m.
Poland’s Lucyna Kornobys took gold in the women’s shot put F34 with a new personal best of 8.33m to reinforce her second-place standing in the world rankings.
The women’s shot put T53/54 title went to world silver medallist Mariia Bogacheva with a F54 championship record of 7.14m.
Out on the track, the women’s 1,500m T20 went to form as Poland’s triple world champion Barbara Niewiedzial took to the front with 300m to go, quickly stretching the field as she took the tape in 4 min 34.62sec – the fastest time in the world this year.
The women’s 100m T34 was won by Russia’s Veronika Doronina who started strongly and held on for gold in 20.10.
Austria’s Thomas Geierspichler set a new championship record of 4:06.13 as he crossed the line first in the men’s 1,500m T52.
By Daniel Etchells
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz