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Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk wins Paralympic gold medal

Smeenk produced CanadaB次元官网网址檚 5th Paralympic gold and 8th medal in track and field
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Austin Smeenk wins the 800M T-34 at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on September 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Michael P. Hall *MANDATORY CREDIT *

Austin Smeenk rang the bell with gusto.

The Canadian wheelchair racer won the menB次元官网网址檚 T51 800 metres Saturday at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

Track and field victors at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games rang a bell engraved with B次元官网网址淧aris 2024B次元官网网址 at Stade de France.

The bell will be installed in a tower at Notre Dame Cathedral when the iconic edifice is restored from a 2019 fire.

Smeenk coveted the rite after watching other Canadian athletes grab the rope for a satisfying clang.

B次元官网网址淔antastic,B次元官网网址 the 27-year-old from Oakville, Ont., declared.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been looking forward to doing that since Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers did it about a month ago.B次元官网网址

Katzberg and Rogers won hammer throw gold at the Olympic Games.

Smeenk produced CanadaB次元官网网址檚 fifth Paralympic gold and eighth medal in track and field.

VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Cody Fournie won a pair of sprint gold medals in T51 wheelchair racing and Brent Lakatos of Dorval., was a victor in the T53 800.

Greg Stewart of Kamloops, B.C., defended his title in menB次元官网网址檚 F37 shot put.

Long jumper Noah Vucsics and defending 1,500-metre champion Nate Reich were still to compete in Saturday eveningB次元官网网址檚 track and field finale.

Smeenk set world records in both the 400 and 800 metres earlier this year, and followed up with the first Paralympic gold of his career.

HeB次元官网网址檚 a double medallist in Paris with a bronze in the 100 metres. The 400 wasnB次元官网网址檛 on the program.

The Canadian built a solid lead early in the 800 and began to pull away on the home stretch.

Smeenk threw his arms in the air before the finish line and beat the surging Chaiwat Rattana of Thailand by two-tenths of a second.

B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 do that, other people and other athletes,B次元官网网址 Smeenk said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sure the coaches will appreciate me saying that. I was ultra-confident that I had everybody beat, so thatB次元官网网址檚 where that came from.

B次元官网网址淧ride comes before the fall and that could have been a real risky move. DonB次元官网网址檛 take risks that are unnecessary, especially at the Paralympic Games. Luckily I was on the winning side of that gamble.B次元官网网址

His fianc茅e Celine Trapnell was among over a dozen family members and friends at the stadium to cheer on Smeenk in his third Paralympic Games.

Smeenk was born with spastic paraplegia, which is a hereditary disease causing progressive stiffness and contraction in the lower limbs.

His power and efficiency gave him a slower arm turnover than many of his competitors in the final.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e actually been in a racing chair for 20 years. ItB次元官网网址檚 been an evolution of technique and, if youB次元官网网址檙e going to be something, you might as well be efficient,B次元官网网址 he stated.

B次元官网网址淟earning to get top speed without doing top frequency has been an absolute development thatB次元官网网址檚 been crucial to success in the longer distance races.B次元官网网址

The electromechanical engineering technology student at Fanshawe College in London, Ont., put those studies on hold to relocate to Victoria in 2022 and train at Athletics CanadaB次元官网网址檚 West Hub with other Olympians and Paralympians.

Smeenk put his studies to work, however, as part of a team that designed his racing chair.

B次元官网网址淟earning to think scientifically has been crucial in refining my racing chair to the level that itB次元官网网址檚 the lightest racing chair of all my competitors as well as one of the best racing chairs, I believe, at the Paralympics this year,B次元官网网址 he said.

B次元官网网址淪marter every day with the things that IB次元官网网址檝e learned and applied that to the world of wheelchair racing as best I can.B次元官网网址

As for how much difference the chair made in winning gold, Smeenk said: B次元官网网址淚s it the hockey stick or is the athlete? Is it the golf club or the person swinging it?B次元官网网址

B次元官网网址淚t all comes together and to put any specific fraction or percentage on that is near impossible,B次元官网网址 he continued. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the culmination of doing the work physically as well as getting the racing chair to the best it can be.

B次元官网网址淭he sum of those two have led to the confidence IB次元官网网址檝e had today to go and race to the best level I can.B次元官网网址

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press





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