Rising from Paris defeat, Denis Gnezdilov rules the Para Athletics Worlds with record-breaking throw

NEW DELHI: When Denis Gnezdilov stepped into the shotput circle at the World Para Athletics Championships, he carried with him more than just the weight of a metal sphere. He carried the sting of Paris Paralympics, the frustration of missed chances, and the determination to prove that failure could be the start of something greater.

Just a year ago, in the Paris Paralympics, the Rustavi-born thrower had endured one of the lowest points of his career when he missed the podium. For a Paralympic gold medallist from Tokyo 2020, the disappointment cut deep. But Gnezdilov is not the kind of athlete who lets setbacks define him. Instead, he treated Paris as a classroom.

“I feel free. In Paris, I made mistakes. I learned from them, corrected them, and now we move forward. The results will keep growing, because after Paris, I changed all the equipment and everything else,” he said, moments after claiming gold in New Delhi.

That willingness to change was visible in every throw he produced on Monday morning. His opener of 10.66m was only a warm-up. By the third round, he had smashed Paralympic champion Miguel Monteiro’s world record with an 11.85m heave.

On his last attempt, he lifted the bar even higher with 11.92m, ensuring that every throw after his first was good enough for gold. With this throw he cemented his status as the sport’s dominant force.

The transformation was not just mental, but technical. In Paris, he relied on the traditional stride technique. This time, he unveiled a complete shift to the rotational style, a more complex but far more powerful method. “I corrected it completely. In Paris, I used the stride. Now, I’ve changed to the rotation.” he explained.