Aled Siôn Davies (born 24 May 1991) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete competing mainly in category F42 throwing events. In 2012 he became the world record holder of the F42 shot put and in the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

he took the bronze medal in shot put and gold in the discus. In 2013 Davies took the World Championship gold in both the shot put and discus in Lyon. He won double gold in his home country at the

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swan ...

in the shot put and discus. This followed his silver medal in the F42-44 discus from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he represented Wales. Davies also took part in the Channel 4 TV series Celebrity SAS: Who dares wins (series 3)

Personal life

Davies was born in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, South Wales in 1991. He was born with

hemimelia Hemimelia comprises the following: * Fibular hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the fibula or fibular longitudinal meromelia * Tibial hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia, Congenital aplasia and dysplasia of t ...

of the right leg. From a young age Davies enjoyed sports, representing Wales as a child at swimming.

Athletics career

Early career

In 2005 Davies switched to athletics deciding to commit to the shot put and discus. In 2009, Davies participated in the 2009 Welsh Open, winning both the shot put and discus. He followed this with a silver medal at the 2009 IWAS World Junior Championships and just missed the medal table with the discus after finishing fourth. Davies surpassed both achievements in 2010 when he became IWAS Junior champion in both F42 shot put and discus in the games at Olomouc in the Czech Republic. Davies began 2011 by competing in the IPC World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. He finished 4th in the shot put but took 2nd place in the discus. In April he competed in his third IWAS Junior Championship, hosted in Dubai. He finished first in both discus and shot put, recording a personal best in the shot put. In May he threw a confirmed personal best in the discus at the

Paralympic World Cup The Paralympic World Cup is an annual international multi-sport event for elite athletes with a disability, that has been hosted in Manchester, England, since 2005. It is organized by the British Paralympic Association (BPA) in coordination with t ...

in Manchester giving him third place.

London Summer Paralympics

2012 saw Davies compete in the CP Sport Grand Prix held in Gateshead in the North of England. His shot put result of 14.56m was a world record in the F42 class. Davies continued 2012 with gold in both discus and shot put at the Croatian Open in Zagreb. Two weeks later, on 22 May, he competed in the Paralympic World Cup, finishing third, despite a personal best of 47.72m. In 2012, Davies was selected for the Great Britain team in the shot put and discus for the

in the F42-44 category. On 31 August 2012 he took the bronze medal in the shot put, recording a distance of 13.78, converting to 961 points. Two days later Davies took part in his second event at the Games, the T42 discus. His first throw was a distance of 45.31m, and although he bettered this slightly on his third throw (45.37), none of his competitors were able to better his initial result. On his last throw, Davies already knew he was the Paralympic champion, and with it set a European record of 46.14. Davies was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

for services to athletics. In 2013 Davies qualified for both shot and discus as part of the British team for the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, f ...

in Lyon, France. In the shot put Davies threw a distance of 14.71m, setting a new world record and securing the gold medal. He followed this three days later with gold in the F42 discus, making him a double world champion. Just days after his victories, Davies was informed that his favoured F42 discus event was to be dropped from the Paralympic program for the 2016 Games in Rio, a decision he campaigned to reverse. His performance at Lyon saw Davies becoming one of the five shortlisted competitors for

BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual Sport in Wales, sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organise ...

2013. Davies was also named Paralympic Sportsman of the Year at the 2013 Sports Journalists Association Awards. In the close season of 2013/14, Davies underwent surgery to his foot. Despite believing he would struggle to regain early form he broke the world record in both the discus and shot put on 6 April 2014. He recorded a throw of 48.87m in the discus and 14.87m in the shot at the Weir Archer Academy in London in April 2014. The following month at the Cardiff Capital Throws in Leckwith he improved on his world record again in the shot. For the first time in his career he threw over 15 metres with a distance of 15.13m. As part of the buildup to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Davies took part in the

Queen's Baton Relay The Queen's Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingh ...

on its leg through Wales. Davies was joined by members of the Eryri Harriers Athletics Club as the baton was taken to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. At the Commonwealth Games, Davies, who was team captain, finished second behind England's Dan Greaves. Davies was hurt by failing to take the gold, and used the experience to spur him on at the forthcoming European Championships. Davies returned to his home country to compete in the

as he aimed for double gold. Buoyed on by the home crowd, Davies did not disappoint. He took the gold in the shot put with a throw of 13.66m to win convincingly. The discus competition took part on the final day and Davies threw 46.46m to take his second gold medal of the Championships.

Rio Paralympics

In the buildup to the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

in Rio, Davies took part in his third IPC World Championships, the 2015 Games in Doha. Both his favoured events, the discus and the shot put, were contested in the F42 category but after undergoing a hernia operation just ten weeks before Davies was unsure of his form going into the competition. Davies' F42 shot put event opened the Championship and although by his own admission he believed his early throws were below his best, his second round throw of 14.35 was good enough to put him into second place and saw him progress to the latter rounds. In the finals Davies abandoned technique for power and threw a 14.88 and then a Championship record of 14.95 to secure the gold medal. In the discus Davies was dominant, breaking his own world record on three occasions on his way to a second gold, his best distance being 49.59m. Davies ended the year by being shortlisted for the 2015 BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. The next year Davies competed at his second European Championship, held during June in

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

. He went into the games on strong form, having extended his own world record (16.13m) in the shot put at

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

the month before. The shot put was held on the second day of the tournament, with Davies throwing two centimetres short of his new record with a distance of 16.11m to take the gold medal. He followed this on day four with a dominant display in the discus to take gold and retain both his European titles. His winning throw of 54.14 added almost five metres onto his world record set in Doha eight months prior. In the Rio paralympics, Davies won a gold medal in the F42 shot put, beating his nearest rivals by over a metre with a new Paralympic record of 15.97m.

Tokyo Paralympics

At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, he won the gold medal in the men's shot put F63 event. Davies was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to athletics.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Aled 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Bridgend Welsh male shot putters Welsh male discus throwers Welsh disabled sportspeople British male discus throwers Sportsmen with disabilities Amputee category Paralympic competitors Paralympic athletes of Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics World record holders in Paralympic athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Officers of the Order of the British Empire Welsh Paralympic competitors People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics