WORLD silver medallist Kyron Duke is adamant that he has it in him to one day win gold at a major championship, insisting “there is still life in me”.

The 24-year-old claimed his fifth World Para-Athletics Championships medal in London on Thursday night, finishing second to Germany’s Niko Kappel in the F41 shot put.

Cwmbran’s Duke has now claimed a place on the podium at four successive championships, but his wait to secure the top prize goes on.

Three bronze and two silver medals, together with a brace of silvers from the European Championships, is a record Duke is rightly proud of – he just wants to complete his collection with a gold.

South Wales Argus:

“I can’t be unhappy with a silver medal,” he said. “It was a proud moment for me.

“But I definitely feel there is more to come if I can get my technique absolutely spot on.

“I’ve still got gold to strive for and there is a massive amount of room for improvement.

“There’s still life in me and I will get that gold one day.”

Duke recorded his best throw of the final – 12.28m – in round one and was briefly in first place.

But when Paralympic champion Kappel broke his own world record in round two the destination of the gold was decided.

His mammoth effort of 13.81m was three centimetres further than the 13.78m he managed in Munich last month.

South Wales Argus:

Reflecting on his performance, and Kappel, Duke added: “The atmosphere was electric and the fans were amazing.

“It brought back so many memories from London 2012 and when the crowd roared it made you tingle from head to toe.

“It got your adrenaline going and gave you a bit more motivation.

“I got my biggest throw out in the first round and was leading until Niko blew everyone away with a new world record.

“I tried hard to go further with my other throws but it didn’t quite work out.

“Niko and I have a lot of respect for each other and he has come a long way since he first started competing.

“He was really young and not throwing that far but he got a lot stronger and started throwing much bigger distances, but I definitely feel I can beat him.”