MARIETTA, Ga. – Paralympic hopeful Scott Winkler (Grovetown, Ga.) set a new world record in the men’s F54 shot put with a throw of 10.01m at the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships. The distance automatically qualifies Winkler as a member of the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team, making him the first Iraq war veteran to make the team.
“I just want to do my best,” said Winkler. “I believed and achieved my goals. If you believe, you can do anything you want, and my end goal is to get to Beijing next year and win a medal.”
Winkler was injured in Tikrit, Iraq in 2003 while serving in the U.S. Army. He fell off of an ammunition truck and sustained a T-3, T-4 spinal cord injury which resulted in paraplegia.
The previous world record distance of 9.76m was held by Markku Niinimaki of Finland, set at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships.
