Ireland's Smyth becomes fastest Paralympian

LONDON (AFP) –

Ireland’s Jason Smyth reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the Men’s 100 metres T13 athletics final during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Smyth retained his T13 100m title, breaking his own world record in the process to become the fastest Paralympian in history.

Ireland’s Jason Smyth on Saturday retained his T13 100m title, breaking his own world record in the process to become the fastest Paralympian in history.

The 25-year-old, who trains with US sprint star Tyson Gay and is visually impaired, clocked 10.46sec to break the 10.54sec mark he set in Friday’s qualifying heats.

Luis Felipe Guttierez of Cuba won silver in 11.02sec, one-hundredth of a second ahead of South African bronze medallist Jonathan Ntutu.

Smyth’s time is 0.03sec faster than Florence Griffith-Joyner’s non-disabled women’s record over the distance.

The Northern Ireland-born runner narrowly missed out on Ireland’s Olympic team and has expressed hopes of becoming the first Paralympian to run 100m in under 10sec.