Silver Squared | Henly hits the headlines as Roeger’s quest continues

The penultimate day of the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships saw Australia add two silver medals to the nation’s tally in Paris, as Paralympic thrower Guy Henly hit the headlines while world record holder Michael Roeger lost no fans on his journey to Paralympic glory in 2024. 

Described by his coach as “the best race he never won”, the determined Roeger (SA, Philo Saunders) put the nation on his back in a bid to break his World Championships hoodoo on the track but was forced to settle for silver with a 3:53.89 performance in the 1500m T46. 

Stretching his ascendency, Roeger led from the front over the distance until Bulgaria’s Hristiyan Stoyanov leveled with the Australian on the top bend before charging to victory. 

“Obviously coming in today the goal was to win, (coach) Philo (Saunders) and I talked about a plan, I executed that and got beaten. I have got to be happy and hold my head up, the Bulgarian was just too strong in that last hundred,” Roeger said.

The world record holder declared that today’s result only delayed his full-circle dream after returning to the track from the marathon to finish what he started, asserting that “we are going to climb the top of the mountain one day”. 

“Coming back down to the 1500m on the track, the goal has always been next year. This is just a little hurdle that I just have to get across, I’m happy with the effort but disappointed with silver. It’s been a whirlwind few years,” Roeger said.

“This means a lot coming back to the track and I still want to win, I’m not done yet and I thank everyone who has believed in me,” Roeger said. 

Completing a decade of medals with his fifth consecutive World Para Athletics Championships podium, Henly (VIC, Dale Stevenson) thrived in the cage of Stade Charlety, lifting himself to silver in the Discus F37 with his sixth-round effort of 52.45m.

“That was pretty special. There were a lot of tough guys and a lot of new guys that I had no idea about. It was a really strong competition, so to come away with the silver, I’m really stoked,” Henley said.

Leading the competition in the early rounds before being relegated to third, the Australian rallied in the final round much like teammate Michal Burian in the Javelin F64 on Day Five.

“It definitely helps having the experience of previous events and previous medals, it obviously gives me a bit of an edge sometimes and makes me super confident, even when I’m behind,” Henly said.

“I just had to focus and slow things down, I have done it before. I have a habit of stressing out my coaches by doing it on the last throw, so I just tried to keep a cool head and it turned out alright.”  

Back-to-back Shot Put F38 world champion Cameron Crombie (ACT, Hamish MacDonald) ran into an 18.26m roadblock when gunning for the three-peat, as Colombia’s Jose Gregorio Lemos added almost two-metres to the world record. Crombie finished in fourth place with 15.89m while fellow Australian Marty Jackson (VIC, John Eden) finished in seventh place with a best throw of 14.56m. 

Paralympic wheelchair racer Sam McIntosh (VIC, Fred Periac) raced to a fighting fourth-place finish in the 100m T52, clocking a time of 18.18 (-0.4) as a maiden global medal continued to elude the 35-year-old. With the contest wide open for the taking, McIntosh pushed valiantly to be denied bronze by a margin of just 0.16-seconds. 

Sarah Clifton-Bligh (NSW, Louise Sauvage) clocked her final of three appearances in Paris with eighth place in the 800m T34, clocking a new T33 championship record of 2:36.45 when racing up a class. 

Progressing to race number six of his championships, Rheed McCracken (NSW, Louise Sauvage) posted a qualifying performance of 1:42.86 to book his ticket to the 800m T34 Final.  Also locking in a sixth race, Rhiannon Clarke (WA, Danny Kevan) was advanced to tomorrow’s 400m T38 Final after it was deemed today’s heats were not required due to athlete numbers.

A trio of Australian wheelchair racers were unable to advance from the first round of the 800m T54, with Jake Lappin (ACT, Jamie Green), Samuel Rizzo (VIC, Richard Colman) and Luke Bailey (NSW, Andrew Dawes) outpaced in their respective heats which saw 19 athletes reduced to eight for tomorrow’s final. 

The final day of the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris will begin tomorrow at 5.30pm AEST. Full start lists and live results can be found HERE, while the broadcast can be viewed live and free on Nine’s digital platform, 9Now.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 17/7/2023