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Jason Smyth

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Jason Smyth
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1987-07-04) 4 July 1987 (age 37)
Derry, Northern Ireland
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
WebsiteJasonSmyth.ie
Sport
SportRunning
Disability classT13
Event(s)100 metres, 200 metres

Jason Smyth (born 4 July 1987) is an Irish sprint runner. He competes in the T13 disability sport classification as he is legally blind, with his central vision being affected by Stargardt's disease;[1] he also competes in elite non-Paralympic competition. As of July 2014, Smyth holds T13 World records in the 100m and 200m events.[2][3] He was selected to represent Northern Ireland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[4] Deterioration in his vision meant that he was reassigned to the T12 classification in 2014, but he was subsequently reclassified back to T13 in 2015.[5] He is a member of Derry Track Club

Career

He won two golds for Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics setting records at the Men's 100 metres T13 and the Men's 200 metres T13, which led some Irish news sources to compare his feat to that of Usain Bolt, who achieved a similar feat at the 2008 Summer Olympics[6]

Smyth made history as the first Paralympian to compete at an open European championships, qualifying for the semi-finals of the 100 metres. Smyth ran 10.43 seconds, finishing 4th in his heat.[7] He just missed out on the final by finishing 4th in semi-finals in a time of 10.47 seconds.[8] Smyth was selected to represent Northern Ireland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, but had to withdraw from the team due to a back injury.[9][10]

He won a bronze medal with the Irish relay team in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2011 European Team Championships.

Smyth hoped to compete in both the Paralympics and the Olympics in 2012. Although he ran 10.22 for the 100m in May 2011, this was 0.04s short of the A time needed to secure a place in the Olympic games.[11][12]

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Smyth won Heat 1 of the 100m final breaking the World Record in a time of 10.54 seconds before breaking the record again in the final where he defended his Paralympic title in a time of 10.46 seconds.[13] This final was also marked as the fastest Paralympic 100 metres in history. Smyth equalled his Beijing achievement by winning gold in the Men's T13 200m with a world record time of 21.05 seconds.[14]

At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Smyth won Gold in the 100m Final. The Irishman clocked 10.64 seconds as he finished 0.14 ahead of Namibia's Johannes Nambala.

Personal life

He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Smyth's Olympic quest won't curb his Paralympic career". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. ^ "IPC Athletics World Records – Men's 100m". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014.
  3. ^ "IPC Athletics World Records – Men's 200m". Archived from the original on 24 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Jason Smyth could face Usain Bolt in Glasgow". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. ^ http://www.the42.ie/jason-smyth-reclassified-2401392-Oct2015/
  6. ^ RTE
  7. ^ Haughey, John (28 July 2010). "Paralympian Smyth misses out on place in 100m final". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  8. ^ Foley, Cliona (28 July 2010). "Athletics: Smyth makes Euro history". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Smyth to miss Commonwealth Games". BBC. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  10. ^ Athletics NI Statement: Smyth Withdraws from Commonwealth Games Archived 24 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ O'Riordan, Ian (8 April 2012). "Time now to be making those London times, folks". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  12. ^ Association, Press (30 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Irish sprinter Jason Smyth thanks Tyson Gay for help". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  13. ^ Channel 4 http://paralympics.channel4.com/the-sports/athletics/event/men-100m-t13/phase=atm113900/index.html
  14. ^ "Smyth doubles up in record style". The Irish Times.
  15. ^ Trent Toone (25 July 2012). "Running on faith: Mormon who just missed Olympics will compete at Paralympic Games". Deseret News. Retrieved 22 July 2014.