PROUD Paralympian Paul Smith returned home to York this week with his sights already set on securing his place in the Great Britain team to go to Athens in 2004.

The 23-year-old thrower smashed his personal best in the F51 discus at the Sydney Paralympics, and had such a great time Down Under that he can't wait for the next Games in Greece.

He flew into Heathrow with the rest of the successful Great Britain squad, having finished a superb seventh in his category while his team-mates collected a record 41 golds, 43 silvers and 47 bronzes to finish second in the medal table behind hosts Australia.

Proud dad Anthony said: "He thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a really stiff competition and he was up against it, but he got his personal best, which was the main thing, and had a wonderful time."

A former student at Acomb's Northfield School and Huntington RD Day Centre, Paul took almost a metre off his previous best with a throw of 13.34m, while the winner, Ireland's Tom O'Leary, threw a little over 16 metres.

Anthony said: "There was not a lot between the medal placings and the so-called also-rans, so Paul was not far away from winning a medal."

Paul, of Yarburgh Way, Badger Hill, began his athletics career after moving to a residential school for the disabled in Mansfield, when aged 17, and during his three years there was noticed by British coaches.

He has now been on the GB scene for some five years, though the Sydney Games were by far the biggest event of his life. "We are more than proud of him," said Anthony.

"To get his personal best in a competition like that is unbelievable. He's beat all our expectations."

Although he will now settle back into his studies for an intermediate GNVQ in information and communication technology at York College, Paul is already looking forward to forthcoming events on his athletics calendar, the next major competition being the World Cerebral Palsy Games in Nottingham next July.

"He's determined to do even better there and he's already starting to look towards the next Paralympics in Athens in 2004," added Anthony.