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Jason Smyth

Jason Smyth. Paralympian. Jason Smyth. Sport : Running Nationality : Irish Date of Birth : 4 th July 1987 . Jason Smyth. Jason Smyth is an Irish sprint runner. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland on 4 th July 1987.

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Jason Smyth

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  1. Jason Smyth Paralympian

  2. Jason Smyth • Sport: Running • Nationality: Irish • Date of Birth: 4th July 1987

  3. Jason Smyth • Jason Smyth is an Irish sprint runner. • He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland on 4th July 1987. • When he was eight years old Jason was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a genetic disorder that affects his central vision. • Jason won two gold medals in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the 100m and 200m in the Men’s T13 category. • He was just 0.04sec short of the time needed to qualify him for the Summer Olympic Games.

  4. Fastest Paralympic 100m in History • 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. • 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. • 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.

  5. Smyth said: "Coming into the championships I knew I was under pressure to retain my title so I wanted to do that first and foremost and thankfully I was able to do that. Of course there was the added bonus of a world record.” "Times at championships are irrelevant. It doesn't matter whether you run 10.00 or 11.00 as long as you win. I believe I can run quicker than that again."

  6. Growing up and Getting Involved • At the age of eight years old Jason was diagnosed with an eye condition called Stargardt’s Disease which affects his central vision. Gradually the disease reduced his vision to roughly ten percent of an average person’s eyesight. While this affected his social life as a teenager, it never slowed him down and he always excelled in sport. • “When I was younger I was into all sports. I was quick at these sports but I was always put in positions where I was required to be fast. I suppose football was my main sport”. Jason is a massive Liverpool fan. • “My first races were at intermediate schools level when I was 15 /16 years old. I did sprints 100 200m, all I ever did. Once I started in running there was no other sport after that”.

  7. Early Success • At the age of sixteen he was approached by his PE teacher with the option of participating in Athletics’ club. There a fellow athlete noticed Jason’s speed and talent and mentioned it to the coach, Stephen Maguire who decided to take Jason under his wing. • For a few years Jason competed in able-bodied races for his school and won the Irish Schools Championships three years in a row. By this time he had also become involved with Paralympics sport and had competed in, won, and set new world records in the 100 and 200 meter T13 races at the European and World Paralympics Championships.

  8. Dream Come True • In 2008 Jason competed at the Beijing Paralympics Games. In the final of the 100 meter T13 race he ran 10.62 seconds, setting a new world record and earning his first Paralympics gold medal. A few days later Jason would again break a world record while running 21.43 seconds in the 200 meter T13 race, and obtained his second gold medal of the games. • In 2010 Jason became the first Paralympics athlete to qualify and complete in the able bodied European Championships, making it to the semi-final in the 100 meter race. He then went on to qualify and race in the World Championships in 2011. • Jason worked towards qualifying for the Olympics 100 meter race for four years while training in Florida. He achieved the Olympic B standard in 2011 when he ran a personal best of 10.22, but fell .04 seconds shy of the A standard and missed out on competing in the 2012 London Olympics. But as with his eyesight, Jason won’t let anything slow him down. Jason won two Gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games coming first in both the T13 100 and 200m races.  He also secured his position as the ‘Fastest Paralympian on Earth’ by breaking two World records in the process

  9. Fastest Paralympic Runner of all Time

  10. Smyth said: This just goes to show that if you work hard and apply yourself you can achieve at the greatest level.

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