Nathan Stephens (born 11 April 1988) is a Welsh former Paralympian athlete competing mainly in category F57–58 throwing events. He was until September 2012 the world record holder in the F57 javelin throw.
Stephens competed in three events in the 2008 Summer Paralympics, finishing 11th in discus, 8th in shot put and 4th in the javelin. In 2011, Stephens won the gold at the Paralympic Athletics World Championships in New Zealand, recording a lifetime best of 39.11 metres in the javelin. He followed this up by recording a world record, at the Czech Athletics Open in Olomouc, in the men's F57 javelin with a distance of 41.37 metres.
In April 2012 he qualified in the javelin for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected by sponsors as an ambassador for the British team. Expectations were high for Stephens going into the games as World champion, but his throwing style was judged illegal and he was red flagged on his first two throws. His final throw was poor and he finished 10th in his event, failing to qualify for the final round. Stephens later complained that in the previous 2011 World Championships his action was deemed legal, and was deeply unhappy at the official's decision. The London games also saw him lose his world record to Brazilian athlete Claudiney Batista dos Santos, who recorded a distance of 45.38 metres.
He competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games where he came 10th in the lightweight event.
|
|