Irish runner Jason Smyth has won his sixth gold medal at the Paralympics.
The Derry native beat Algeria’s Skander Djamil Athmani in a photo finish by just 0.01 seconds at the 2020 games in Tokyo.
The 34-year-old finished in a season’s best of 10.53 seconds to claim victory.
#ParaAthletics #Gold for JASON SMYTH!!
Photo finish win for GoldSmyth, 10.53 – that's all it takes!
It's Paralympic Gold number 6⃣ for Jason Smyth#TeamIreland | #TheNextLevel pic.twitter.com/WQRz65UkBC
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) August 29, 2021
Speaking to RTÉ Sport about his win, Jason said: “Delighted, obviously an extremely close race. I knew coming into it that the Algerian had run quick in the heats and he’s run very quick this year – quicker than I have. So I knew I was up against it.”
“If I reflect back on the year I’ve had, it’s probably one of the toughest years I’ve had in quite a while with injuries. Nine months ago, I was wondering if this was me done. Three months ago I was wondering would I be at the Games and to be able to be at this level.”
“But we got things right and we came together right at the right time,” he added.
The moment Jason Smyth received gold on the podium for the sixth time at a Paralympic Games#rtesport #paralympics #paraathletics
📱 Live updates – https://t.co/yvJaZMisVD…
📺Watch live – https://t.co/3fIvL3Jwwv pic.twitter.com/fG1xDrDZf9— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 29, 2021
President Michael D. Higgins congratulated the athlete on his incredible win, saying: “My warmest congratulations to Jason Smyth on winning a fourth successive Paralympic 100m gold medal in Tokyo today – an extraordinary achievement by an exceptional athlete.”
Jason, who is legally blind, has also won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing games, the 2012 London games and 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.
Check out some of the Twitter reactions to the latest win below:
The World's Fastest Paralympian – Jason Smyth🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/VGxX9cp1RM
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 29, 2021
Hurrah, another paralympic gold for Ireland – well done to Jason Smyth. 🥇🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/t8SdF2JDaF
— Roisin Meaney (@roisinmeaney) August 29, 2021
Stunning race by Jason Smyth to win gold for Ireland in the men’s 100 mts in 10.53
— Fergal Bowers (@FergalBowers) August 29, 2021
This pretty much sums it up. Jason Smyth. Ireland’s greatest athlete and I won’t be hearing any of yer arguments. #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/wsl3hqEnXr
— Joanne O’ Riordan (@JoanneOR_Ox) August 29, 2021
Jason Smyth doing Jason Smyth things, one of the greatest in history, never mind in Ireland 🥇
— Orlagh Mullan (@OrlaghMullan) August 29, 2021
