Jason Smyth claims seventh World Championship Gold medal as he adds the T13 200m to his 100m title in London
Ireland’s Jason Smyth has struck gold with a sensational run in the T13 200m at the Para Athletics World Championships in London, adding to the 100m title he won on Sunday night.
It was a stunning performance by the 30 year-old Derry sprinter who stormed to victory with a season’s best time of 21.40 seconds, finishing well ahead of Namibia’s Johannes Nambala (21.81 seconds) in second and Poland’s Mateusz Michalski (21.86 seconds) in third at the Queen Victoria Olympic Park.
Tonight’s win brings Smyth’s impressive gold medal tally at World Championships to seven to add to his five Paralympic golds.
After a solid start out of the blocks Smyth pulled away from the rest of the field out of the bend to secure Ireland’s fifth podium finish of the Championships.
Speaking after the race the City of Derry AC athlete was delighted to secure yet another world medal: “I think as time goes each major championship will get a little bit more special as my daughter gets older.”
He continued: “Delighted to be done and I get to relax now. It’s obviously incredible to be here after the 100m on Sunday night where I didn’t feel like I could relax and enjoy it but now that I’m done with a second gold medal, it’s incredible really.”
Irish Team Manager James Nolan added: “Jason got a good start and had a strong first 100 metres with a great transition off the bend to win by .4 of a second. Exceptional consistency here in London and over the past ten years. Jason is role model for us all.”
Following Smyth’s win, Meath man Paul Keogan made his first appearance in a World Championships final in the T37 200m, finishing in 7th place with a time of 25.38 seconds. South Africa’s Charl Du Toit claimed gold with a time of 23.27 seconds.
Speaking afterwards, Cushionstown AC athlete Keogan said: “I was happy with my start but feel I tied up a bit in the home straight. 400m is my main event so it was very beneficial for me to go through the racing process twice over 200m prior to the big one.”
Team manager James Nolan added:”Paul did very well reaching the final in the 200m. The physiological stimulus this provides is ideal preparation for a 400m heat on Saturday.”
Keogan will be in action again on Saturday when he lines out in the T37 400m heats.
Tomorrow sees just one Irish athlete in action with Patrick Monaghan going in the heats of the T53 800m heats. Monahan goes in heat two which gets underway at 21:28.
More than 1,100 athletes from 95 countries will compete over the ten days (14th – 23rd July) at the London Olympic Stadium with over 250,000 tickets already sold making it by far the biggest in the event’s history.
Paralympics Ireland are providing a media service for the duration of the Championships with daily press releases and all results live on Twitter. Sportsfile will be syndicating images daily reproduction fee free with further updates on Facebook and Instagram. A comprehensive website with full schedule, results and a live feed is also available at www.paraathleticschampionships.com. We also have a dedicated page on our website www.paralympics.ie/competitions Channel 4 in the UK will also screen 30 hours of live coverage over the duration of the Championships.
The Irish team is proudly supported by Flogas and Allianz; official partners of Paralympics Ireland.
