Hagan Landry set an American record in winning a silver medal in the men’s shot put F41 competition at the Tokyo Paralympics Monday morning.

“It’s a euphoric feeling,” Landry said. “My feet still aren’t on the ground. You don’t come in here expecting a medal. You come here expecting to perform, and I’ve done just that.

Landry, a 2014 Delcambre High School graduate, improved his own American record in the event with a toss of 13.88 meters (45 feet, 6.4567 inches) on his third throw in the finals. His previous best was 13.83 meters.

Bobirjon Omonov of Uzbekistan won the gold medal with a Paralympic record and personal best 14.06 effort and defending gold medalist Niko Kappel of Germany won bronze at 13.30.

Landry dedicated his quest for a gold medal to his grandmother, Marnel Fremin. He thanked her and his coach, Larry Judge, after the competition, celebrating with Judge in the stands after finishing his final attempt.

His grandmother’s support kept him going through the toughest times after he decided to try to become a full-time athlete.

“It was a dream, but don’t get me wrong, there were times it was like ‘Is this dream actually going to be a reality?’” Landry said before the Paralympics. “We had those questions, but my grandmother helped me stick to it, her and my dad and the rest of my family, and as we can see it took a couple of years — it took four before I made my first two interntional teams.

“It took some time before I made the first (international) teams. It was tough.”

Landry said he was concerned about his home state with Hurricane Ida making landfall during the day Sunday, according to a story by Katie Grunik, digital coordinator for TeamUSA.org and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Family members were safe, he said, but because he was preparing for the competition he hadn’t had a chance to speak with any of them.

“I hope my people got to see it,” Landry said. “The majority of them were blowing up my phone this morning saying they’re going to try regardless of the storm, so I hope y’all got to see it. That was for the state of Louisiana. Hopefully, it brings a light in this time of dark.”

His pride in representing Louisiana — he was the only Louisiana athlete at the Paralympics — was evident after the competition.

“My pride for Louisiana comes from Louisiana itself,” Landry said. “If you ask anybody from there, we’re prideful. That’s just Louisiana as a whole. There’s no one you’re going to meet there that’s not proud to be from there.”

View Landry’s efforts at https://www.nbcolympics.com/videos/landry-sets-continental-record-f41-shot-put-silver?chrcontext=wral.