Bulgaria’s Ruzhdi claimed his sixth successive gold medal in the men’s Shot Put F55 competition at the IndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on a warm Sunday morning. His dominance was confirmed with a world record throw of 12.94m, setting one of the three world records achieved during the session.
The 34-year-old Ruzhdi, acknowledged as a legend in para athletics, improved upon his own previous world record of 12.68m set at the 2023 World Championships in Paris. Despite his paralysis from the waist down due to a car accident, Ruzhdi has now secured gold in every World Championships since Doha 2015, marking the third occasion he has won gold with a world record distance.
Serbia’s Nebojsa Duric achieved six throws over 12m, but Ruzhdi surpassed his best of 12.52m with five throws exceeding that distance, underscoring his exceptional performance.
Abdul Latif Romly (Malaysia) completed a hat-trick of men’s Long Jump T20 gold medals with a world record leap of 7.67m.
Volodymyr Ponomarenko (Ukraine) set a men’s Shot Put T12 world record with a 17.39m effort on his second attempt, decisively clinching the contest.
Nassima Saifi (Algeria) completed a double hat-trick of the women’s Discus Throw F57 gold medals, with each of her five valid throws exceeding 32m.
Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) secured victory in the women’s 5000m T54 race, defeating Chinese defending champion Tian Yajuan and her teammate Patricia Eachus.