Niko Kappel once again missed the longed-for gold medal at the Para World Championships in track and field. The short shot putter had to settle for silver in Paris.
With 14.49 meters he was defeated by the Uzbek Bobirjon Omonov, who brought it to 14.73 meters. The 28-year-old Kappel has been waiting for a big title for six years now. Third was the American Hagan Landry (13.48).
After winning the Paralympics in 2016 and the World Championship title in 2017, the man from Stuttgart won silver three times and bronze twice. His training partner Yannis Fischer, who was seven years his junior, surprisingly won the title in the shot put of the smaller dwarfs on Tuesday.
“It’s tough”
“Great – with 14.49 meters silver. That’s tough. Respect for the colleagues, he did well”said Kappel afterwards: “It would have been a bit more, but I can still be satisfied. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t enough for gold.” And with a view to the Paralympics next year: “There’s still room for improvement.”
The Para Athletics World Championships (until July 17) is a kind of dress rehearsal for next year’s Paralympics (August 28 to September 8, 2024), which will also take place in the French capital. At the previous World Championships in Dubai in 2019, the German team had won eleven precious metals in ninth place (7x gold, 2x silver, 2x bronze).