LONDON, England - Tanto Campbell has qualified for the finals of the men’s F54/55/56 discus throw finals at the 14th Paralympic Games here at Olympic Stadium, Stratford, east London after throwing a personal best 41.66m, calculated to 972 points, for the fourth best after the first round that lasted well over two hours.

On a sunny but cool morning session in front of yet another large and exuberant crowd, the Jamaican team captain and flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony surpassed his previous personal best of 40.42m.

He threw last in the field of 13 and had to wait for more than two hours to take his first throw, given the rules of disabled competitions that see the athletes being strapped down in customised chairs and thus have to take all their attempts, unlike the able-bodied competition where athletes take alternate attempts through the rounds.

After his two ‘warm up’ throws, Tanto, who won bronze medals at the last two Paralympics, opened with a 35.99m effort, the seventh best of the morning and ensuring him a place in the finals.

He then produced his best ever throw with 41.66m before finishing off with another solid effort of 40.93m.

Defending champion Leonardo Diaz of Cuba threw and new Paralympic Record 44.24m to lead the qualifiers, followed by Serbia’s Drazenko Mirovic who had a World Record 32.97m in the F54 category for 1012 points and Azerbaijan’s Olokhan Musayez’s personal best 41.77m.

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