SHE may not have threatened the medal places, but just reaching the Paralympic Games can be seen as a huge achievement for Gemma Prescott.

The former Great Sankey High School pupil placed seventh in the women's F32 club throw in Tokyo, with her best effort of 18.28 metres significantly below her personal best of 22.21m.

However, the double bronze medalist from London and Rio was not too downbeat considering the journey she had to go on to reach the Games.

"I had a spinal fusion. I herniated a disc just before I flew out to Rio and competed on it for about three years and it was kind of stable until it wasn’t," she said.

"It was a case of I had to have the surgery and I had to have it then, it couldn’t wait. I didn’t know if I would throw again.

“But then just to be here, not just because of Covid but also after having surgery 18 months ago, I said to myself my target was just to make it. So actually, I made it.”

Poland's Roza Kozakowska won gold with a huge, world record throw of 28.74m.