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LEGENDARY IRISH PARALYMPIAN Jason Smyth has announced his retirement at the age of 35.
The Derry native is hanging up his spikes after a glittering undefeated career that spanned across three decades, included four Paralympic Games appearances — Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 — and no shortage of gold medals.
Smyth bows out as a multiple Paralympic and world champion, having never lost a competitive Para Athletics event throughout his entire journey and deservedly earned the title of “Fastest Paralympian on the Planet”.
He’s unquestionably one of the greatest athletes this country has ever produced.
Today we say goodbye to a Paralympic legend…
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) March 29, 2023
8 Paralympic Gold Medals
8 World Championship Gold Medals
6 European Championship Gold Medals
1 World Indoor Championship Gold Medal
Undefeated.#ThankYouJason pic.twitter.com/3fPe5yjCJf
Amazingly, Smyth won gold medals in every event in which he competed on the big stage and his haul includes six at the Paralympic Games across the 100m and 200m, eight at the World Championships, six at the European Championships and one from the 60m at the World Indoor Championships.
Smyth — who has less than 10% vision due to an eye condition known as Stargardt’s Disease — is the current European, World and Paralympic champion and world record holder in the event he helped to redefine, the T13 100m.
He also competed in non-Paralympic athletics, winning two Athletics Ireland National Championships in the 100m and representing Ireland at two European Championships and one Championships.
🌟 Undefeated Jason Smyth Retires To Take Management Role At Paralympics Ireland 🌟
— Athletics NI (@AthleticsNI) March 29, 2023
Iconic Irish Paralympian Jason Smyth has today announced his retirement from Para Athletics.
Read more here: https://t.co/WLIbdNwFaF@ParalympicsIRE @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/lU16zFkshy
Time to say goodbye… pic.twitter.com/5OxNwCvwW6
— Jason Smyth MBE (@smyth_jason) March 29, 2023
The first-ever Paralympian to compete in those events, Smyth also represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. He’s the third fastest 100m sprinter in Irish history with 10.22 seconds, and the fastest in Norther Irish history.
He will now undertake the role of Strategy Manager at Paralympics Ireland.
“I think now is the right time for me to step away from competitive Paralympic Sport,” Smyth said as he announced his retirement. “I lived and fulfilled the dream and now I hope to support the next generation of para-athletes on their journey.
“I have loved my time with Team Ireland and I have had many incredible memories that I will really treasure from my time as an athlete. There are so many people that have helped me along the way from my coaches, support staff, to my teammates, partners and my competitors. I would especially like to pay tribute to my incredible and very patient family, especially my wife, Elise and my daughters Evie and Lottie.
“I now look forward to joining my new teammates at Paralympics Ireland. I feel that I have a lot to offer thanks to my experiences as an athlete and as someone that has been in the Paralympic and Disability sporting environment since my youth. I can’t wait to start this new stage of my career and giving back to the sport that has meant so much to me.”
Farewell to a legend 👟
— Tourism-Culture-Arts-Gaeltacht-Sport-Media (@DeptCulturelRL) March 29, 2023
Ministers @cathmartingreen & @ThomasByrneTD have paid tribute to Jason Smyth on his retirement.
The fastest #Paralympian on the planet achieved 6 gold medals and represented Ireland at 4 Paralympic Games.
ℹ️ https://t.co/WtdmshzStr pic.twitter.com/2bWVaXNw8G
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Still persisting with this then, yeah?
@JedBartlett: This shouldn’t require a push notification anymore especially since the numbers are stable at this level for weeks now.
God 20 deaths is awful. Rip
@cearbhaill: on average 600 other people died in Ireland in the last week as well…… Around 31,000 annually.
@Paul Hedderman: But not from a preventable disease. RIP to those who died.
@Paul Whitehead: exactly some people continue to be truly awful. RIP
@Paul Whitehead: I think you’ll find a good chunk are preventable – cancers, heart disease, lung diseases, suicide and lets not forget flu in previous years….. FYI, covid isn’t necessarily the main cause of many of these deaths but may have contributed. Deaths with COVID for 2020 is 2,248 in the running total reported to us. CSO COVID deaths for 2020 is 1,672. You obviously cant class someone terminally ill as a covid death…… Also, the last report on deaths with covid had a mean age of 81 and median age of 82.
@Paul Hedderman: I’ve never understood the mentality of people who say things like that. It’s no big deal that 20 people died from covid because more died from other things!?!? Those are 20 people with families. Have a bit of respect!
@Ger: thanks and well said. His whole train of thought is disgusting. Better off muting him.
@Ger: Sorry but where did I say its no big deal? Thats your words not mine. Original poster said 20 deaths last week were awful, I’m informing them that there was alot more deaths last week than the deaths with covid. Its the reality and takes nothing away from those 20 that died.
@Paul Hedderman: but this article is not about people who died of other causes, is it? Its about, amongst other things, the 20 people who died from covid. Making the comment you did serves no other purpose than to devalue those 20 deaths. You know it, I know it and everyone who read your comment knows it.
@Ger: Exactly, its an article, not the obituaries. Its a purely informational comment which im sure many didnt know.
1789 was the start of the French Revolution and the year that George Washington was elected President of the United States.
It is a prime number and its two halves, 17 and 89 are also prime. Such a prime number is called a Tony Prime, in honour of Dr. Tony.
17 * 89 = 1513 and that is the number of cases that the makey-uppy machine will spout out tomorrow.
@Padraig O Muirthile: and you just might be right !
@Padraig O Muirthile: I was wondering where this was going sir. Made me chuckle.
Hardly a need for boosters, there is a serious need to vaccinate the world before it comes back to bite us.
@Diarmuid Hehir: agree
@Diarmuid Hehir: for high risk people boosters make sense
Close the pubs
@Alison Maguire: open more of them need a drink
Is there anything to be said for another mass!
When will he ever just FXXK OFF
@Leo O’ Leary: yes swearing at covid is how to manage it
When will the truth of the vaccines become obvious to those writing comments here, are you people afraid to face the truth, are will it just be booster after booster?
@JK: you believe and retweet Gillian McKeith, TV’s pôo “doctor” (NB “doctorate” from a 2 weekend course), and you think other people are missing the truth? Heavens.
@JK:
Dreadful grammar. Must try harder.
70% unvaccinated seems to be constant enough lately. With 88% of adults fully vaccinated, the unvaccinated hosts will have to run low soon.
What percentage of deaths and admissions to hospital do the Unvaccinated make up I wonder
@Eamonn Martin: at 20th August 62% of ICU cases were unvaccinated, and 15% were only partially vaccinated.
@Sam Harms: Thanks Sam. With the virus constantly hitting the 12% for a while, really should be on a downward curve soon.
@Eamonn Martin: For now, sure. But if it becomes endemic, it will become a mainly childhood illness – meaning that each new generation will be at risk of variants. So it makes sense to look into vaccinating younger people so they don’t have to get it.
Some older people might need boosters though.
@Eamonn Martin: Hopefully. But there will be an influx of cases in next few weeks and they will rise and peak. Then slowly go downhill.
Feck sake, this “wave” of it should be going into decline soon
@Quiet Goer: it’s new virus waving all over the place omg
The vaccines are doing a mighty job, not.
Course it did, Bob. It’s frictional tripe, the stuff you get your jollies from. I’d say you haven’t taken a walk in the woods since reading on Facebook that Little Red Riding Hood was a true story.
Omg to heigh again
@Richarddoherty: ….and never too high for some on here Richard?
I think they are definitely a good thing for elderly and immunocompromised people. Other than that more should be shared to the developing world. Getting the population in most countries to a decent level of vaccination is the only way to stop major variants like delta in the future
have your say