Sheppard sets Australian record in Glasgow
Commonwealth Games
Cooya athlete Matt Sheppard has thrown an Australian record 10.29m to finish 7th in the Men’s Shot Put F57 final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In the biggest meet of his life, and with his family in Glasgow to see him compete, Sheppard excelled on the international stage.
The competition was dominated by Indian athletes Rana Soman (Gold) and Juyal Shubham (Silver) with huge throws of 13.40m and 13. 28m respectively.
The Bronze went to Lekezo Azamdzi Cedric Idriss of Cameroon with a put of 12.57m. All three on the podium were more than 1.5m out in front of the rest of the field.
Sheppard was told to make the Australian Commonwealth Games team he would need to be ranked in the top seven in the world, his performance in Glasgow standing strong.
Sheppard said before heading to Glasgow with wife Erica and children Jax, 13, Nova, 11, and Freya, 9 they would enjoy a holiday post his competition, which was staged on the final day of the athletics program.
The Douglas Athletics Club member received plenty of support in the lead up to his departure and plenty across Douglas Shire were expected to be watching on as the local star took to the games arena.