The fact that the mention of ‘David Wetherill’ and ‘Paralympics’ makes you conjure up one image in your head – and in particular, one moment – it is no surprise that the now infamous 23-year-old from Plymouth has a new accolade to add to his growing reputation.
His champagne moment in ExCeL, that wondrous diving forehand past Poland’s Thomasz Kusiak, has recently been voted as the fourth greatest moment from the London 2012 Paralympic Games by the International Paralympic Committee.
The video on YouTube has now accrued well over 6 million views – the most by any video during the Paralympic Games, which has given the youngster international fame.
The company that Wetherill is keeping is quite astounding. The winner of the poll was Alex Zanardi, the 45-year-old hand-cyclist who won gold at the men’s individual H4 time trial and road race at Brands Hatch, but who most people remember as a former Formula 1 car driver before he lost both his legs in a racing accident in Germany in 2001.
Second place went to Brazil’s Alan Oliveria who shocked the world with his victory over Paralympic superstar Oscar ‘blade-runner’ Pistorius in the T44 200m sprint, while third place was for Spanish swimmer Teresa Perales who gave her Paralympic gold to her two-year-old son.
To see all the top 50 moments from the Paralympic Games (as voted for by the IPC) click here