LONDON, England — Javelin gold medalist Alphanso Cunningham is on course for his second gold medal of the 14th Paralympic Games after advancing to the finals of the men’s discus throw F51/52/53 at Olympic stadium in Stratford, east London this morning.

Cunningham had a solid series with a best throw of a season’s best 24.68 seconds on his third throw of the first round calculated at 835 points that had left him in second place at the time.

‘Nancy’, as he is called by his teammates and friends, opened with 23.96m then improved to 24.19m on his second attempt and is presently in fourth position going into the final set of three throws.

The Jamaican could be asked to equal or better his personal best 26.45m if he is to win his second gold medal in the event and first since Athens in 2004 as he slipped down the rankings as others throwing after him had better results.

Three throwers in lower classifications are ahead of the Jamaican with Algeria’s Berrahal Mohamed leading the way with a F51 World Record 12.37m for 1093points.

Latvia’s Apinis Aigars threw a F52 Paralympic Record 20.73m for 983 points while Tunisia’s Zemzemi Mohamed, who is competing in the F51 category, threw a Personal best 10.93m for 847 points.

Aigars’ throw was a Regional Record for less then 30 minutes before Mohamed surpassed it.

Meanwhile, there will be a new champion after 64 year-old Japanese Oi Toshie failed to get into the top eight with a best throw of only 20.35m in the F53 classification and finished 10th overall.

The Japanese has the F53 World Record at 26.62m and Paralympic Record 26.21m which Cunningham will be aiming for in the finals later.

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