Jason Smyth has in succeeded in his bid to win a third consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the 100m T13 final, winning the race in a time of 10.64s.
GOLD! Congratulations to @smyth_jason on his third 100m #gold! What a performance! #TeamIreland #Rio2016 https://t.co/LMAtdNOVTA
— eir Sport (@eirSport) September 9, 2016
The gold never looked in doubt as the fastest Paralympian in the world led from the early moments of the race.
Dominating out of the blocks, Smyth took an early lead, holding his form to cross the line in a time of 10.64, with his closest rival, the Namibian, in second and Australian Chad Perris taking third in times of 10.78 and 10.83 respectively.
He's done it! Ireland's Jason Smyth wins a third Paralympic gold medal in the 100m T13 final #Rio2016Paralympics pic.twitter.com/stPuX1upWo
— BreakingNews.ie (@breakingnewsie) September 9, 2016
Jason Smyth makes it Paralympic Gold number 5, winning his third T13 100m title in a row. He makes it look so easy pic.twitter.com/v03uuZG6ne
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) September 9, 2016
Smyth had won last night’s heat in a time of in a time of 10.76 seconds.
It is a fifth Paralympic gold medal for Smyth and Ireland’s first medal of the Games.
MEDAL ALERT! @smyth_jason has won #TeamIreland's first medal winning gold in the T13 100m in 10.64 #MoreThanSport pic.twitter.com/W62M7pdUTz
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) September 9, 2016
“This is my third consecutive Games and winning my 5th Paralympic medal is incredible,” said Smyth.
“It is a bit like a fairytale really, I keep coming to these major championships and winning gold and I just don’t want it to end.”
Being aware of the short time between the heats and finals, Smyth’s preparation for the final was good, he said.
“The turnaround between heats and the final wasn’t ideal,” he said.
“I felt I was able to get through the heats well, doing enough without killing myself. I was ready to go and today, I know I had to step it up another notch. I was able to do that.”
Earlier today in the pool, Nicole Turner qualified for the S6 50 metres butterfly final after swimming her heat this afternoon in a time of 38.44s.
Elsewhere in track cycling, Colin Lynch competes in the qualifiers of the C2 Individual Pursuit and Eoghan Clifford goes in the C3 qualifiers.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny later paid tribute to the sprinter.
The Taoiseach said: “I would like to congratulate Jason on his historic sprint triumph in Rio.
“To retain the T13 100m sprint title for the third Olympics in a row is a magnificent achievement and is testament to his talent, dedication and sheer hard work.
“It is a great honour that the fastest Paralympian on the planet is an Irishman and his haul of five Olympic medals ensures his place in the pantheon of Irish sporting greats.”
