Updated at 20.44
JASON SMYTH HAS won another gold medal for Ireland at the Paralympics this evening, setting a new world record in the 200m Final in the process.
The athlete won with a time of 21.05, easing to victory at the Olympic Stadium.
Smyth finished comfortably ahead of Russians Alexey Labzin (21.95) and Artem Loginov (22.03), who took silver and bronze respectively.
Speaking to Setanta after his victory, Smyth said: “It’s great for me. I can never forget all the people that got me here.”
And despite claiming two gold medals, Smyth still believes there is “room for improvement” in his performance.
“I haven’t developed as much as I need to reach my potential,” he said. “I still believe there’s more to come.”
Smyth described how it had been “a pleasure” to represent Ireland, and added: “Hopefully this will bring the Paralympics forward.”
In addition, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, was one of the many congratulating Smyth, in addition to Mark Rohan and Catherine O’Neill, for their achievements today.
He said: “I would like to extend the congratulations of the whole country to Mark, Jason and Catherine on their fantastic achievements
at the London 2012 Paralympics today.“Winning a medal at any major championships is a tremendous achievement but to win at the highest stage of them all proves an athlete to be one of the best in the world not just physically, but mentally too. To win two gold medals at the one games is an unbelievable accomplishment and it shows that Mark and Jason are two of the leading athletes in the world.”
It is Smyth’s second gold at these Games and fourth in total, as he won the same two medals (100m and 200m) four years ago at the Beijing Games.
Smyth’s win means Team Ireland have now claimed eight golds and 16 medals in total at the London Paralympics.
