Irish sprint star Jason Smyth beat Algeria’s Skander Djamil Athmani by one-hundredth of a second to win the T13 100m final at the Paralympics.
Smyth dipped just ahead of Athmani at the finish line to earn a sixth Paralympics gold medal in a time of 10.53 seconds.
“I’m absolutely delighted – I wasn’t sure I’d won when I crossed the line.” Smyth told Channel 4.
“I came here with a target on my back but people know I’m not easy to beat.”
The 34-year-old Northern Irishman moved clear before being closed down by Athmani in Tokyo.
Smyth maintained his unbeaten record during a 16-year Paralympics career. The visually-impaired athlete won double gold in Beijing and London before retaining the T13 100m title in Rio.
Event dropped
The International Paralympic Committee dropped the 200m event from the T13 programme in Rio and that remains the case in Tokyo.
Smyth, who has now won 21 major titles during his career, has indicated that he could prolong his career to the Paris Games in 2024.
He added: “I’ve had a tough year with injuries – there were times, if I’m honest, that I wasn’t sure I would be here or that this could be the end of my career.
“We got things right when they needed to be right and the big thing for me are the people behind the scenes who actually make it happen.
“It’s about using my experience – the Algerian may have been running faster than me this year but this is where I have been, this is the level I compete in year on year.
“So it’s about trying to put him under pressure early on in the race and holding on from there.”
Taggart beaten again
Larne woman Claire Taggart lost her second Pool C game in the Bocca BC2 individual competition, going down 3-2 to Yongjin Lee of Korea.
The Great Britain competitor, as with her opening match, led before her opponent turned it around in the final end. Taggart takes on pool leader Maciel Santos of Brazil on Monday in her final game.
Northern Ireland’s James McSorley helped Great Britain to a 69-57 win over Iran in the men’s wheelchair basketball. Great Britain have clinched a place in the quarter-finals and now will face Australia in their final group game on Monday.
Jordan Lee finished ninth in the high jump final for Ireland after clearing 1.74m while Limerick teenager Róisín Ní Riain missed out on a place in the S13 50m freestyle final after coming seventh in her heat in 28.88.
Cavan’s Britney Arendse bettered her personal best three times with a 107kg lift leaving her seventh in the 73kg class of the powerlifting and Kerrie Leonard is through to the last eight of the W2 individual in archery.
