Paralympic Games:Jason Smyth, the fastest Paralympian on the planet, was again untouchable when he returned to the track this morning. The 100 metres gold medallist and world record holder is the red-hot favourite for the 200m and the Derry sprinter did not disappoint in the heats.
Running in the third and final heat, Smyth showed his rivals a clean pair of heels before the bend, the result firmly beyond question as he entered the home straight. Smyth was even able to post a time of 21.48 seconds easing up as he booked his place in tomorrow night’s final.
Ominously for his rivals, Smyth was the only qualifier to break 22 seconds, his time some 0.5 seconds faster than his closest challenger, Alexander Zverev of Russia.
Over at the Aquatic Centre, there was disappointment in the pool for Bethany Firth this morning, the 100m backstroke gold medallist forced to withdraw from the 100m breaststroke due to a shoulder injury. Firth secured a gold medal in the S14 100m backstroke last week but was unfortunately pulled from S14 200m Freestyle last Sunday due to this same injury.
Ellen Keane, swimming in the 200m individual medley, qualified sixth into this evening’s final in a time of 2:42.00. South African Natalie du Toit finished in first place with 2:36.92 with Team GB taking 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the qualifiers.
The 17-year-old Dubliner will swim in her final at 5.38pm this evening.
Swimming in his third event of the games, James Scully was also in action this morning and finished 13th in the 50m backstroke heats and outside of the qualifying times for this evening’s final. Scully will be back in action in the 100m Freestyle on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Cathal Miller finished in 14th position in the men’s C4-5 road race in Brands Hatch today. In what was a fast-paced contest, Miller rode strongly to finish in the second bunch in a race won by the Ukraine’s Yeger Dementyev, who also won gold in the time trial yesterday.
Miller’s 14th place was an impressive finish, especially considering his back brake became faulty during race, meaning he missed the crucial break with three laps to go.
In table tennis, Rena McCarron Rooney and Eimear Breathnach lost their team F1-F3 quarter-final against Italy’s Michela Brunelli and Pamela Pezzutto 3-0.
Breathnach played Brunelli in the opening game with Brunelli taking the lead, winning 11-6, 11-3, 11-6. McCarron won the first set against Pezzutto 11-8; however it wasn’t to be with Italy taking the remaining sets, 11-4, 11-7, 11-2.
In the final match, McCarron played Brunelli but Italy took a three win set with 11-4, 11-4, 11-6.