It was one of three medals claimed by British athletes on the opening day of the Championships.

Woods finished third in the 5,000 metres T54 final, which was won by reigning Paralympic champion Amanda McGrory, of the United States.

She powered to victory in a time of 12min 52.41sec, a Championship record, in a race where less than half-a-second covered the first three across the line

Switzerland's Sandra Graf was second in 12:52.61 with Woods third in 12:52.82.

"I'm happy with a bronze," said Woods, who had also won the bronze medal in the same event at the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008.

"It's a good start and hopefully I can build on that for the rest of the Championships.

"I felt really strong and in drier conditions I can use my speed a bit more; I had to adjust my technique a bit because of the rain and I had to push the best I could to get the best grip."

McGrory, a 24-year-old from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, was surprised at how well she performed in the wet conditions.

"I'm not generally very good in the rain, so I was nervous at the start of the race," she said.

"Being able to push through the conditions to be successful makes this win that much bigger for me.

"It's awesome to be the first American to win a medal here and I hope to see a lot of my teammates on the podium throughout the competition."

It set the tone for an encouraging opening day for Britain.

Woods' podium finish was followed by a silver medal winning performance from Loughborough's Dan West in the men's F34 shot put.

West, a double silver medallist in the shot and discus at the last World Championships in 2006 in the Netherlands, threw a Championship Record of 11.37 metres in round two but this was later trumped French rival Thierry Cibone (pictured), who threw a world record of 11.53m to claim victory.

Tunisia's Mohamed Ali Krid claimed bronze with a distance of 10.41m.

"My target for the year was to throw 11.20m so to do that in a major Championships," he said.

"I can't ask for more.

"I've only ever been over 11 metres once before and that consistency is something I've been working on with the boss [his coach, Jim Edwards] back home.

"I've been really relaxed out here.

"It's the best preparation camp I've ever been part of and that helped me massively coming into today."

Britain's third medal came as Gemma Prescot, a 27-year-old from Merseyside.

She took bronze in the women's F32 club throw.

Prescott threw16.40m to claim a spot on the podium behind Tunisia's Maroua Ibrahi.

Ibrahi secured gold with an impressive throw of 21.08m while Ireland's Catherine Wayland picked up silver with a distance of 13.56m.

"I really tried to shut off from tomorrow and stay focused on today," said Prescott.

"Nobody really knew what to expect so I was really just targeting a good distance.

"That was a big PB (personal best) for me and it's definitely given me confidence going into the shot put.

"It's good to get one under my belt - now I need to go back and re-focus."

Meanwhile, Hannah Cockcroft got her Championships off to a fantastic start as she claimed victory in the women's T34 200m final, a non-medal event, in a Championship record of 33.72.

The 18-year-old from Yorkshire led from start to finish and admitted she had enjoyed the experience.

"I'm happy with that," he said.

"It was easier than I thought.

"I got off to a good start which is testament to the work I've done with Peter.

"I wasn't too nervous but I think that was because I saw the girls I was going to race against in training and I knew I was better than them."

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