HEREFORDSHIRE-BASED javelin star Dan Pembroke was left stunned after grabbing gold in Tokyo with a mammoth Paralympic record on his Games debut.
Pembroke, who has a degenerative sight condition and previously competed in able-bodied events, threw 69.52m in the F13 final.
He is now targeting the world record of 71.01m, having previously managed a personal best of 75.89m before switching to Para sport.
Pembroke said: "I was expecting to throw big but the Paralympic record is amazing – I can’t believe it.
"I’ve worked really hard in a short period of time to get where I am at the moment so, in the future, my sights are on the world record so hopefully I will get that soon.”
Pembroke, now 30, was diagnosed at the age of six with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).
The condition, which affects around one in every 3,000 worldwide, is degenerative to sight as time progresses.
Pembroke first threw a javelin in school, visiting a club almost immediately afterwards and breaking the school record within two months of starting.
He then broke the UK’s age record for 14, 15, and 17 – with the latter leaving him the best in the world for his age.
In 2011 he threw 75.89m, which is still his able-bodied record to this day. The qualifying distance for the 2012 Olympics sat at 78m.
However, in the process, Pembroke snapped his medial collateral ligament when throwing, rendering him obsolete from competition.
He returned to javelin throwing while studying at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford.
After returning, he was informed he could qualify for a Para event once classified. In turn, he became nationally classified as an F-13 athlete, which is the most minor of the visually impaired categories.
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