Crowds help roar Davies to gold
ALED Davies admitted he was hooked on the Olympic Stadium roar as he celebrated a dominant discus gold in style.
The 21-year-old was already guaranteed the title and had a tear in his eye when he stepped into the circle to deafening cheers for his final throw of the F42 competition.
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The result was a new European record of 46.14 metres as the Bridgend athlete, also the shot put bronze medallist, added Great Britain's third Paralympic gold of the Games.
Davies knew it was big straight away and raced off in celebration, punching the air before draping himself in the Union Flag for a lap of honour.
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"It was incredible out there. It's addictive," said Davies, who put his sports management course on hold to pursue his Paralympic dream. "It's sad to know that was my last event because after competing on Friday I just couldn't wait to get back in here.
"Those roars are just something else. It wouldn't have mattered where I finished, those guys would have been cheering whatever happened."
Davies, who represented Wales at swimming before turning his attention to athletics in 2006, was born with talipese and hemi-hemilia in his right leg, which means the limb is missing bones, muscle and ligaments and is supported with a brace.
His victory took the hosts past their Beijing gold medal tally on only the third morning of competition.
And he revealed he was holding back tears when he went up for his final throw.
"I was almost going to say, 'No I don't want it'," he said. "But then I thought, 'I'm here on the world stage and this is for all the fans'. So I managed to go in there and just enjoy it, and I really did enjoy it. It was an unforgettable moment for me.
"I would have loved to have thanked every individual person in there because without them there wouldn't be this atmosphere. It's what makes the Games."
Davies went over to embrace his mother Jackie in the crowd and also his brother, who had flown in from Australia to watch him compete.
He added: "It was very emotional. I managed to pull out a massive throw so I'm just chuffed that I was able to perform on the world stage."
The thrower revealed he would love his success to be acknowledged by getting the chance to go on the pitch ahead of a Wales rugby union international at the Millennium Stadium.
"I just want to be recognised as an elite athlete now, because I feel that sometimes we are not recognised as elite athletes and we don't get the recognition," he said.
"I want to keep pushing the boundaries of the sport as much as I can. If I can push up to an able-bodied standard I would love to do that."
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