The Jason Smyth Interview: ‘I have to live my life with this’

Jason Smyth’s journey from a life altering eye disease to becoming the fastest paralympian in the world may be the stuff of a Hollywood screenplay but the Northern Ireland speedster is still rooted in reality...

IT was only the heats and as the fastest man in his world, it was supposed to be little more than a warm-up for Jason Smyth. He heard the blast of the gun and the thud of his feet pounding the London track.

In finals, the great conundrum for a sprinter is you try and force yourself to go faster when in fact you need to be relaxed to achieve just that, but in the first round of the 2012 Paralympics, the Derry man felt no pressure and knew this was quick.