Deon Kenzie has become world champion for the first time at the World Para-Athletics Championships.
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The Forth 21-year-old ran another well-executed race to claim victory in the 1500m T38 in 4:06.68.
Kenzie cruised past France’s Louis Radius and Tunisia’s Abbes Saidi to lead the pack, increasing the distance between first and second place with each step in the last 200m.
“That’s bronze in Lyon (2013), bronze in Doha (2015), silver in Rio and now gold in London!,” Kenzie said.
Coached by Athletics Tasmania president Mike Gunson, Kenzie went into the race as reigning world record holder and silver medallist from the 800m.
“I’m overwhelmed. This has probably been my best preparation in the lead-up to a world championships. I knew that I had to put it all on the line and really play to my strengths.
I made a commitment to myself that one day I’d be an elite athlete, and today I’m a world champion
- Deon Kenzie
“My coach Mike and I, we put in so much work over the last eight years, and it’s so good to have it all finally pay off. I started running almost a decade ago, and I made a commitment to myself that one day I’d be an elite athlete, and today I’m a world champion.”
Cycling
Madeleine Fasnacht has claimed her second gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
Having dominated the 10km individual time trial earlier in the week, the 17-year-old from Hobart was again in superb form to take out the 65km road race.
The results mirror the double the Guilford Young student claimed at this year’s junior national championships.
She also contested the road race and time trial at last year’s under-19 road world championships in Qatar.
Rowing
Tamar rower Henry Youl’s crew finished fifth at the under-23 rowing world championships in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.
Italy comfortably won the coxed four with GB, USA and Romania crossing the line close together.
The Australian crew of Youl, 21, in the stroke position, Sam Marsh, Andrew Judge, Sam Hardy and cox Georgia Litt led after 500m but faded to come in 6.5 seconds behind the winners.
Swimming
Launceston’s Ariarne Titmus began her swimming world championship campaign alongside world record-holder Katie Ledecky.
The Queensland-based 16-year-old finished her heat of the women’s 400m freestyle second behind the American defending champion.
Titmus set a new personal best of 4:04.26 to qualify for the final third fastest as Ledecky clocked 3:59.06.
The 17th FINA world championships in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, will also see Titmus in the fifth of six heats of the 200m (PB 1:57.90) on Tuesday and the third of four heats in the 800m (PB 8:23.08) on Friday.
Hockey
Hobart’s Jeremy Edwards took his number of international hockey caps to 24 but it wasn’t enough to keep the Kookaburras in contention for the World League semi-finals.
Field goals from Cedric Charlier and Amaury Keusters put Belgium ahead. A 45th-minute Jeremy Hayward penalty corner could not prevent a 2-1 loss.
The Kookaburras play Spain in the bronze medal match while Belgium face Germany for gold.
Edwards is the only Tasmanian competing in Johannesburg, South Africa.