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British javelin star Dan Pembroke delivered on his word by twice breaking the world record en route to becoming double Paralympic champion in Paris.
The 33-year-old had made little secret of his intent of bettering the previous best global mark of 71.01 metres, set by Uzbekistan’s Aleksandr Svechnikov back in 2017, having been 51 centimetres away from it last year.
He initially stretched the record to 71.15m before producing a mammoth throw of 74.49m to emphatically retain the F13 title he memorably clinched with a then Games record of 69.52m on a rain-soaked day in Tokyo.
World champion Pembroke stood with his arms aloft as he absorbed the acclaim of the Stade de France crowd before blowing kisses to spectators revelling in his unprecedented achievement.
“That was phenomenal,” he said of the atmosphere. “I’ve never had anything like that ever before in my life, it was just such a feeling.
“The crowd just got behind me and that was my secret weapon. It was incredible, an amazing day.
“I’ve got a taste of it and I want some more – LA ( Los Angeles 2028) here we come.”
Pembroke’s success brought ParalympicsGB’s third athletics podium place on Thursday after wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn won her fourth medal of the Games with 400m silver following F35 shot put bronze for Anna Nicholson.
He was first up and led the contest throughout, having begun with a season’s best effort of 68.39m, which was more than seven metres superior to the rest of the field in round one.
The visually-impaired athlete, who was poised to represent his country at the London 2012 Olympics before a snapped elbow ligament ruined that dream and ultimately prompted his journey in Para sport, was just getting started.
After Svechnikov’s seven-year record fell in round three, Pembroke again broke new ground with his next attempt, fuelled by Iranian rival Ali Pirouj providing food for thought with a throw of 69.74m.
“I thought, ‘wow, that’s a bit too close for comfort’ and I realised then the job wasn’t done,” he said.
“I’ve been doing a lot more visualisation work and it really helps to clear the mind. I just thought of my process goals and hit them and bang out it went.”
Pirouj’s best was as close as anyone came to stealing the thunder of Pembroke, who celebrated gold by jubilantly running into the centre of the field and bowing to his supporters before performing laps of the track wrapped in the Union Jack.
Following his dashed Olympic dream, the Briton, who has retinitis pigmentosa – a genetic disorder which affects the retina and has left him with only 10 per cent vision, bade farewell to athletics in 2013 in order to see the world while he still could.
The lengthy sabbatical included meeting wife Martina in Sardinia before Pembroke made the successful transition to disability sport.
“Tokyo, there was no one in the crowd; today, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.
“I’ve been speaking to Sammi Kinghorn, she’s clanging with medals at the moment and she just told me ‘just go out there and enjoy it’ and that’s exactly what I’ve done.
“I was bawling my eyes out when I hugged Martina – she knows how much it means to me to do to do that.”
Earlier, Kinghorn, who became 100m champion on Wednesday, continued her unforgettable Games by clocking 53.45 seconds in the T53 400m, 1.85secs behind Swiss gold medallist Catherine Debrunner.
“I’m absolutely buzzing with it; four from four, I can’t be disappointed in that at all,” said the 28-year-old Scot, who has also won 800m and 1500m silver in France.
“It’s been amazing, I’ve definitely done a lot better than I thought I would coming in.”
Shot putter Nicholson produced a best throw of of 9.44m in the morning session to finish third in her event.
