Also 21 at the time, Smyth came to Beijing already unbeaten on the major championship stage, having won two gold medals at the 2006 World Para-Athletics Championships in Assen, in the Netherlands. He’d also won European Para-Athletics gold in Espoo, Finland, back in 2005. “It’s not about me, because I’m just one person within my sport,” Smyth told The Irish Times. Smyth’s latest gold medal made the RTÉ main evening news and at least this national newspaper. And given the challenges and prejudices he’s overcome during those 13 years, there’s no putting a price on all that.

Source: The Irish Times August 25, 2018 06:22 UTC