Gold medal delight for Joe Townsend at the Commonwealth Games

It was a huge day for Eastbourne's Joe Townsend as he claimed the gold medal in the Para-triathlon at the Commmonwealth Games.
Joe TownsendJoe Townsend
Joe Townsend

Townsend, 30, produced his best to take top spopt as Australian Nic Beveridge took silver and fellow Aussie Bill Chaffey won bronze, showing incredible determination after a big crash.

BBC Sport tweeted, “What a few minutes for English para-triathlon.

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Jade Jones wins gold, following on from Joe Townsend’s success in the men’s event.”

The victory was Townsend’s first gold medal at a major games.

Townsend, a former Royal Marine Commando, lost both legs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2008. He got into triathlon when he completed the Ironman UK triathlon in Bolton in July 2011. He has since competed at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, where he finished second and has established himself as one of the best PT1 paratriatheltes in the world.

He competed for Paralympics GB in Rio in September 2016. Townsend also carried the Paralympic Flame into the London 2012 stadium as part of the opening ceremony. He was suspended by wires and made a dramatic overhead entrance to the arena, even though he is actually scared of heights.