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Jason Smyth Creates Athletics History

July 2010

Jason Smyth, the visually impaired two-time Paralympic champion became the first Paralympic athlete to compete in the European Championship on Tuesday 27th July when competing in the 100m. He put in a good performance to progress to the semi-final of the 100m on the following day. He sprinted into 4th place in a blanket finish for the minor places in his semi-final in a time of 10.46secs. The eventual European Champion, Christophe Lemaitre, won this semi-final. This performance has resulted in Jason being now ranked 14th in Europe in the 100m and represents a fantastic achievement.

Irish blind Sports congratulate Jason, and his full support team, on his wonderful achievement. Performances such as this truly focus attention on ‘ability’ to achieve sporting excellence despite competing with a disability