Sure seems like there are a lot less eyes are on the Paralympics than there were on the Olympics, and definitely not for any good reason.
I’d find a way to avoid going down to the shops if I bruised my foot, so I find it hard to imagine the incredible dedication and hard work it would take to become a world-class athlete if I was legally blind.
But imagine doing that, and then being faster than the Olympians in the same event. Well, that’s exactly what not just one but four men did in the men’s 1,500m T13 finals.
The T13 classification is used in the Paralympics to define people who have roughly 10% of their vision, with a visual field between 5 and 20 degrees, which is, roughly translated, basically bupkis.
Algerian Abdellatif Baka, Ethiopian Tamiru Demisse, Kenyan Henry Kirwa and Algerian Fouad Baka all beat US gold medallist Matthew Centrowitz‘s 3:50.00 time.
Abdellatif Baka took the gold with a time of 3:48.29, setting a new world record for T13. Nice.
Source: ABC News.
Photo: Getty Images / Matthew Stockman.
