BT PWC 2012: Greaves eager to regain world record in London

By Paul Eddison in Manchester, Sportsbeat

DAN Greaves saw his BT Paralympic World Cup title and world record both taken away from him by reigning Paralympic champion Jeremy Campbell but he is confident he will get his revenge come London.

BOUNCING BACK: Dan Greaves is not worried after losing his world record at the BT Paralympic World Cup

The 29-year-old F44 discus thrower has the full set of Paralympic medals having picked up gold in Athens in 2004, four years after silver in Sydney, while he ended up third behind American Campbell in Beijing in 2008.

He bounced back from his bronze in the Chinese capital with a sensational 2011 when he won World Championship gold in New Zealand with a record-breaking throw of 58.98m, going on to throw 59.85 later that year.

Campbell smashed that mark in Manchester yesterday reaching 62.18m to become the first man to throw over 60m.

But while Greaves was understandably frustrated to see his record go, relinquishing the title he won last year, he insists he will be much stronger in London.

He said: "I feel like I'm in much better shape than my performance suggests. But it's all about London. We've got 6-8 weeks of speed work to do which hasn't shown up yet so I've just got to keep on doing what we've been doing in training, it's still a pretty heavy phase at the moment.

"It's the first big one I've had so I'd have liked to get closer to a personal best. Last year I got the world record but it was coming back off a world record in New Zealand and a short period of rest whereas this time we are peaking towards September."

After Campbell's record-breaking performance at the City of Manchester Arena, Greaves knows that he will have to find more than two metres to catch his American rival in London.

However the 29-year-old revealed that there is a lot more to come having settled for silver with a throw of 56.88 in Manchester.

He added: "We will do everything in our power to make sure it goes over 60 in London.

"London 2012 is the real goal for me so I'm just going to stay positive and focus on what we are doing and all the speed stuff we put in should pay dividends come London."

The BT Paralympic World Cup is taking place in Manchester from 22-26 May with elite international athletes competing in Athletics, Football 7-aside and Wheelchair Basketball. Go to www.btparalympicworldcup.com for tickets and more information.

© Sportsbeat 2012