Canadian wheelchair athlete Austin Smeenk wins Paralympic gold in the men’s 800m T34 category

Austin Smeenk called eagerly.

A Canadian wheelchair athlete won the men’s T51 800 metres race at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Saturday.

The winners of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in athletics rang the bell marked “Paris 2024” at the Stade de France.

The bell will be installed in the tower of Notre Dame Cathedral during the renovation of the iconic structure following a fire in 2019.

Smeenk wanted this ritual after seeing other Canadian athletes grab the rope and make a pleasant sound.

“Fantastic,” said the 27-year-old from Oakville, Ont.

“I’ve been looking forward to doing this since Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers did it about a month ago.”

SEE l Smeenk wins gold in the 800 meters at the Paralympics in Paris:

Canadian Austin Smeenk adds the gold medal to the bronze he already won in Paris

Austin Smeenk, 27, of Oakville, Ontario, won the men’s T34 800 meters in a time of one minute, 39.27 seconds at the Stade de France.

Katzberg and Rogers won the gold medal in the hammer throw at the Olympic Games.

Smeenk won Canada’s fifth Paralympic gold medal and eighth medal in track and field.

Cody Fournie of Victoria won two gold medals in the T51 wheelchair sprint race, while Brent Lakatos of Dorval won the T53 800-meter race.

Greg Stewart of Kamloops, British Columbia, defended his title in the men’s F37 shot put.

Earlier this year, Smeenk set world records in the 400m (48.06) and 800m (1:35.59) before winning his first Paralympic gold.

He is a double medalist in Paris with bronze in the 100 meters. The 400 meters were not in the program.

The Canadian built a solid lead early in the 800m race and began to pull away from his rivals on the final straight.

Smeenk threw his hands up just before the finish line and beat Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana by two tenths of a second, finishing in a time of one minute, 39.27 seconds.

“Don’t do that, other people and other athletes,” Smeenk said. “I’m sure the coaches will appreciate what I said. I was ultra-confident that I beat everyone, so that’s where it came from.

“Pride comes before a fall, and this could have been a really risky move. Don’t take risks that aren’t necessary, especially at the Paralympics. Luckily, I was on the winning side of that gamble.”

WATCH l Smeenk talks about winning gold at the Paralympics:

Canadian Austin Smeenek’s Paralympic gold medal ‘was electrifying’

Austin Smeenk, 27, of Oakville, Ontario, reacts after winning the gold medal in the men’s 800 meters T34 at the Stade de France.

His fiancée Celine Trapnell was among more than a dozen family members and friends in the stadium cheering Smeenek on as he competed at his third Paralympic Games.

Smeenk was born with spastic paraplegia, which is a hereditary disease that causes progressive stiffness and contractures of the lower limbs.

His strength and efficiency meant that he moved his hand slower in the final than many of his competitors.

“I’ve actually been riding a racing chair for 20 years. It’s an evolution of technology, and if you’re going to be somebody, you might as well be efficient,” he said.

“Learning to achieve maximum speed without performing maximum frequency was an absolute achievement that was crucial to success in longer distance races.”

The electromechanical technology student at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, put her studies on hold to move to Victoria in 2022 and train at Athletics Canada’s West Hub with other Olympians and Paralympians.

However, Smeenk put his studies to work, joining the team that designed his racing seat.

“Learning to think scientifically has been key in improving my racing wheelchair to the point where it is the lightest racing wheelchair of all my competitors and also, I believe, one of the best racing wheelchairs at this year’s Paralympic Games,” he said.

As for how much of a difference the chair made in winning gold, Smeenk said: “Is it the hockey stick or the athlete? Is it the golf club or the person swinging it?”

“It all comes together and it’s almost impossible to pinpoint a specific fraction or percentage,” he continued. “It’s the culmination of physical labor and also getting the racing seat in the best condition possible.

“The sum of those two factors gave me the confidence I had today to race at the highest level possible.”