'It was a relief': Pembroke defends World javelin crown in New Delhi

Dan Pembroke after winning gold at the Paralympics in Paris last summer. Photo credit: imagecomms

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WSEH’s Dan Pembroke admitted it was a relief to defend his World Para Athletics Javelin title in New Delhi on Saturday as injury had prevented him throwing properly for weeks.

Pembroke’s practice time ahead of the World Championships was severely restricted due to his injury, however, he still managed the best throw in the competition, launching the javelin to 68.51m with his final throw.

 Producing his best when it matters most is something Pembroke has done throughout his career, and he now adds a third world title to his two Paralympic gold medals.

He said: “It was a relief,” said the Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow athlete, trained by John Trower

“I didn’t tell anyone, but I haven’t thrown a javelin for four and a half weeks.

“I was just trying to find my head out there – I’m ecstatic with the win, but I’m always looking to push my performance and the world record more and more.

“Without any injury, I’d be a bit disappointed – but I went out and smashed it, so it’s great.

“We’ll have to see what craft beers we’ve got in the hotel.”

While delighted to defend his world title, Pembroke spoke afterwards about the odd atmosphere of competing in a virtually empty 60,000 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

"It's a bit of an anti-climax when you come to the world championships and nobody knows it's going on," he added.

"Everything is running really well. All the logistics, you know, getting to the stadium, the competition and how it's being run is all really, really good, I couldn't really fault it at all.

"But the one thing that is noticeable is the lack of crowd here. I think potentially all the money was spent on making it run well and not notifying the local population."

 Last summer at the Paralympic Games in Paris he competed in front of 65,000 people.

"It's very, very different,” he said, “It's just a shame there isn't the crowds we had in Paris because that did spur me on. It appears able-bodied championships were shown on UK television and people knew about it but now the Para World Championships come around, and nobody knows it's going on.

"You can't say people don't want to watch it, look at Paris and the numbers of people that did view the Paralympic Games."