Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop have made a habit of winning Paralympics gold medals in quick succession.
The relative ease with which they won the latest of them shouldn’t disguise a more inordinate difficulty.
Because both Smyth and McKillop came to the Paralympics Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar with question marks over their fitness and form.
Smyth had only recently returned to full training following knee surgery, and likewise McKillop, who sustained a series of injuries in a domestic accident earlier in the year.
Both athletes also knew they’d need to produce season’s bests to claim their latest titles, and on Saturday night did exactly that. Smyth clocked 10.62 seconds to defend his T13 100m in typically brilliant fashion, and likewise McKillop, who won his T38 800m title in equally emphatic style.
Ninth gold
For both Smyth and McKillop it was also their ninth gold medal won at
major Paralympics
competition – a remarkable streak by any standard. Smyth, however, won’t be attempting a sprint double this time, as he’s returned home to his London base where his wife is due to give birth this week.
McKillop will go again later in the week in the 1,500m, clearly in form to win another gold.
Smyth’s 10.62 seconds was even more impressive given he was running into a +2.3 headwind: “It was great to be out there competing again,” said the Derry sprinter.
“You always want to be quicker, but I got the gold and that’s all that matters for me.”
McKillop ran a season best of 2:01.31 to win his 800m, and paid tribute to his father and coach, Paddy, who helped steer him through a difficult few months: “I will forever remember this day,” he said, “not because of the time but because I never thought I would get to the start line after a really horrific injury. It’s been so tough mentally but thanks to my family and my girlfriend’s support I am here and still unbeaten.”
His was the third medal already won by the nine-strong Irish team in Doha, with Niamh McCarthy delivering a first medal when winning bronze in her discus event. Next up this evening is Noelle Lenihan, the 15 year-old from Cork who will be making her Irish debut in her discus event, currently ranked third in the world.
The standout moment of the championships so far – and further evidence of the growing standards of Paralympics sport – was Germany's Markus Rehm winning the T34 long jump with a magnificent leap of 8.40 metres.
Carbon-fibre blade
For Rehm – a single-leg amputee who uses a carbon-fibre blade in its place – that jump would have won him the gold medal at the London Olympics.
There, Britain's Greg Rutherford jumped 8.31m to won gold, nine centimetres short of what Rehm jumped in Doha.
However it’s still unclear whether or not the IAAF will allow him to compete in Rio next year. The German athletics federation have a already ruled him ineligible for able-bodied competitions, claiming his prosthetic leg gives him an unfair advantage, particularly as it is used for take-off purposes.
Expect that debate to resurface prior to Rio.
