Dave Henson’s rise to SACs most successful sprinter

Dave Henson this week quietly went about establishing himself as the most successful sprinter in the history of Southampton Athletic Club. In the various incarnations of the club, no athlete has ever achieved greater individual success than Dave. He has improved rapidly and massively since entering the sport as recently as 2014, Henson's rise has been meteoric. In 2015 he stepped onto the world stage, fighting his way to 7th place in the 200 metres final of the IPC world championships in Doha. In 2016, Dave stepped onto the biggest stage of all. Following his 200 metres silver medal at the European IPC championships in Grosseto, Italy, Dave then moved on to Rio to win Paralympic 200 metres Bronze in a fine 24.74 seconds. In 2017, having improved his 200 metres personal best by another half second, to 24.25 sec, Dave took dead aim at a World Championships medal on home soil. On Saturday 15th July Dave cemented his place amongst the elite of world sprinting with another Bronze in the T42 200 metres final in 24.73 seconds behind GB team mate Richard Whitehead . Henson's trajectory of improvement shows no sign of levelling off and Dave can look forward further honours in the next four year cycle of major championships. Gary MacDonald-Gray