Campbell throws himself into the fray

AFTER A good performance in javelin throw yesterday, hopes are high for Tanto Campbell to medal in discus, his pet event, today in the 12th Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece.

Campbell threw a personal best 27.96 metres in the javelin event but that only got him in 13th place with 873 points out of 19 athletes.

Campbell competed in class F56 yesterday and this was his first time competing in javelin at an international event as he just started training for the event four months ago.

AN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE

"We believe this is an excellent performance for such a short time in training and look forward to the hopes of a medal in discus, his better event, tomorrow (today)," said chef de mission Suzanne Harris.

Harris is accompanied by coaches Errol Williams, Neville Sinclair and support staff Rose Clarke-Williams and four athletes. She said since their arrival they had been training and she is hoping for the best in the future events.

Vinette Green, class F53, participates in discus tomorrow and on Saturday morning Sylvia Grant, F57, will contest the discus and Saturday evening Alphonso Cunningham, F53, also take part in the discus competition.

Grant and Cunningham will compete on Monday in javelin.

The classification of athletes is done by their event and level of disability.

F stands for field events and the higher the number the less disabled the athlete is.