Smyth breaks new ground and record

PARALYMPICS: It was inevitable that the day would arrive and last week it did when teenager Jason Smyth of Derry broke a 14-year-old Irish indoor junior track and field record over 60 metres. The sprint was even more remarkable because Smyth's run of 6.92 seconds was achieved at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Indoor Championships in Bollnas, Sweden.

Smyth's run in the T13 class, which is for athletes with visual impairment, is the first time a paralympic athlete has broken an able-bodied athlete's time in Ireland and indicates what way paralympic athletics is heading. The run was just one hundredth of a second quicker than Jeff Paplin's 1992 Irish junior record of 6.93 seconds over the same distance.

It is expected that paralympic athletes will, over the next 10 years, begin to run faster times than able-bodied runners at a number of events at Olympic games and World Championship level. Already several at the top end are within a couple of seconds off the able-bodied athlete's sprint times, South Africa's 100 metre and 200 metre runner, double amputee Oscar Pistorious, leading the way.

In breaking the Athletic Association of Ireland's able-bodied record, Smyth has pushed Irish paralympic athletics to new unparalleled heights. A pupil of Limavady Grammar School and currently doing his A-level exams, Smyth defeated the Athens gold medallist Royal Mitchell of the USA into second place with his run. Mitchell completed the distance in seven seconds flat.

Smyth is one of the first Irish athletes to be contracted to the tune of €40,000 this year from the Irish Sports Council under the International Carding Scheme, an amount that recognises his unusual ability but one that was not expected to yield such positive results so quickly.

Derek Malone was also crowned world champion in the 400 metres (36/38 class event). The Clare athlete from Whitegate, who represents Cerebral Palsy Sport Ireland, notably defeated the Athens bronze medallist Stepanskoy in the run. Malone has been training in South Africa over the winter months and came from second position entering the final straight to win in 55.89 seconds.

Bronze medals were also won by Dubliner Michael Daly in the High jump (T12 class) and Kerry's Roy Guerin in the 60 metres (T53/54 class). The overall performances are a strong indication of how Ireland might do in the IPC World Championships in Holland in August of this year.