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Jaydin Blackwell’s mother knew the moment her son would never be the NFL star that he dreamed of becoming. “He was faster than anyone else but he was just too just kind and polite,” she recalls.
If the sprinters are the swaggering chest thumping showmen of the Olympics, running off their mouths as quick as they gallop down the track, then there is a marked difference here at the Paralympics.
And Blackwell, who scorched to a 10.64 second world record in the T38 classification – contested by athletes with coordination impairments – proves that nice guys don’t always come last. He even delayed the start of his race to help Chinese rival Zhou Peng with strapping that had come off his leg.
Three years ago, Great Britain’s Thomas Young dominated this race but he cut a dejected figure here after missing a bronze by just one hundredth of a second.
There was not a single American in the field in Tokyo but with the Los Angeles Games on the horizon, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee decided something needed to be done and fast.
The prospect of not being competitive in the blue-riband events at their home Games was simply not palatable and a talent identification programme was quickly initiated, with three finalists here the result and Blackwell’s transition from High School football star to track and field rewarded.
“It was the perfect race, but I was just focused on what I had to do and get to the line as fast as possible,” he said. “I was just telling myself to get out fast, do what you got to do. I just got into drive phase, stood up tall and started chugging it.
“It felt like it was a little bit slow. When I looked at the line as I crossed the screen and saw 10.64 (seconds) I was thinking ‘OK, alright, let’s go’.
“I had to bring something over here to put a little pizzazz into things.”
Defending British sprint champions Young and Sophie Hahn were both left scratching their heads after being blown away by world records.
They arrived at the Stade de France as the ones to beat but quickly discovered the rest of the world had simply caught them up.
“The Americans have scouted athletes from other sports and they are doing such a good job to bring these guys in for LA,” said Young, whose season’s best would have earned him silver.
“Beating them at their home is the ambition now but I’m gutted, it’s been my best season ever and this is just a totally horrible feeling.
“My leg cramped up in the call room but no excuses, it just wasn’t my night. I’ve got off the track injury free, the tears will dry and I can focus on the future.”
Two-time champion Hahn, the second quickest qualifier to the final, didn’t make the podium.
She trailed home a distant sixth as Colombia’s Karen Palomeque Moreno didn’t just snatch her title but carved over a tenth of a second off her world record, clocking 12.26 secs to win gold.
“I think the 38 class has got really competitive which is great for the sport but I’m obviously still gutted,” she insisted. “I’ve been running a long time; I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve and it’s time to enjoy it really.”
David Weir has also been at it a long time, though competing at his seventh Paralympics doesn’t always give the best impression he is having fun.
Weir is best known for his London 2012 heroics, proving unstoppable to win four golds in just seven days, but his last two Paralympics have seen him cut a glum figure, returning from both Rio and Tokyo empty headed.
Eight years ago, he vowed never to wear a British vest again claiming a team official accused him of throwing a race. While in Tokyo he called time on his track racing career to focus on big city marathons.
However, age has mellowed the 45-year-old ‘Weirwolf’, a six-time Paralympic champion.
And he’s also got quicker thanks to a mystery benefactor who gifted him a hi-tech carbon figure racing chair designed by F1 team Sauber, meaning he could chuck his ten-year aluminium version in the skip.
He finished eighth in the men’s 5000m final as American Daniel Romanchuk shocked defending champion, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug. The racer known as the ‘silver bullet’ - due to his trademark helmet - grabbing a medal to match.
“I thought I was in a good position and thought I had my tactics spot on but I just didn’t have that final sprint, I put that down to my age,” admitted Weir.
“Sometimes it takes me a good race to blow the cobwebs and the marathon is obviously the race where I think I can be most competitive.”
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.
