Jason Smyth (born 4 July 1987) is an Irish retired

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

runner. He competes in the T13 disability sport classification as he is legally blind, with his central vision being affected by

Stargardt's disease Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease. In terms of the first description of the disease, it follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, which has been later linked to bi-allelic ABCA4 gene variants ...

; he also competes in elite non-Paralympic competition. , Smyth holds T13 World records in the 100m and 200m events. He was selected to represent Northern Ireland at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

. Deterioration in his vision meant that he was reassigned to the T12 classification in 2014, but he was subsequently reclassified back to T13 in 2015.

Career

He won two golds for Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics setting records at the Men's 100 metres T13 and the Men's 200 metres T13, which led some Irish news sources to compare his feat to that of

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

, who achieved a similar feat at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

In 2015 the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

's website also compared him to Bolt. Comparisons to Bolt have also been made by some non-Irish news sources such as

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. Smyth made history as the first Paralympian to compete at an open

European championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, qualifying for the semi-finals of the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. Smyth ran 10.43 seconds, finishing 4th in his heat. He just missed out on the final by finishing 4th in semi-finals in a time of 10.47 seconds. Smyth was selected to represent Northern Ireland at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

in Delhi, but had to withdraw from the team due to a back injury. He won a bronze medal with the Irish relay team in the 4 × 100 m relay at the

2011 European Team Championships The third European Team Championships took place on 18 and 19 June 2011. The Competition was divided between four divisions, with results determining promotion and relegation between them. The Super League event was held in Stockholm, at the Stock ...

. 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. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

, 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. At the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

, Smyth won Gold in the 100m final. The Irishman clocked 10.64 seconds as he finished 0.14 ahead of Namibia's

Johannes Nambala Johannes Nambala (born 15 February 1991) is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. In 2013 he became the first Namibian to win a gold medal at an IPC Athletics World Championships, when he won the 400m ...

. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, Smyth again won Gold in the 100m final. He clocked 10.53 seconds as he finished 0.01 ahead of Algeria's

Skander Djamil Athmani Skander Djamil Athmani (born 21 June 1992) is an Algerian Paralympic athlete. He made his first Paralympic appearance representing Algeria at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Career Skander initially competed in able-bodied competitions. He com ...

. In 2017 the

's website described him as "the world's fastest Paralympian". In 2015 it had described him as "the fastest para-athlete of all time", while Britain's

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described him as "the world's fastest ever Paralympian" in 2016. In December 2023 he was announced in the line-up for

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

Ireland season 7. On

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

2024, despite receiving low scores throughout the competition, Smyth and his dance partner

Karen Byrne Karen Byrne (born 30 May 1992) is an Irish dancer and choreographer. She is known as being a judge and, previously, a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. Early life Byrne was born in Ballyfermot in Dublin. She ...

were announced as the winners of the show.

Personal life

Jason is from Eglinton. He is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Smyth was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to Paralympic athletics and the sporting community in Northern Ireland.

References

External links

*
Jason Smyth
at

Paralympics Ireland Paralympics Ireland (formerly known as the Paralympic Council of Ireland) is the National Paralympic Committee in Ireland for the Paralympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Irish compet ...

(profile 1)
Jason Smyth
at

(profile 2) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Jason 1987 births Living people Paralympic athletes for Ireland Paralympic gold medalists for Ireland Athletes from Derry (city) Irish Mormon missionaries People educated at Limavady Grammar School Latter Day Saints from Northern Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Visually impaired sprinters World record holders in para-athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Northern Ireland Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Male sprinters from Northern Ireland British male sprinters Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Members of the Order of the British Empire Irish male sprinters Paralympic sprinters Blind people from Northern Ireland 21st-century British sportsmen

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links