Algerian runner Fouad Baka might have been disappointed when he only placed fourth in the Paralympic Games’ T13 1500m final – a race for athletes with visual impairments – on Sunday with an impressive time of 3:49.59.
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Of course, that means the three runners who claimed first, second and third place ahead of Baka outdid every 1500m Olympic runner easily.
Nonetheless, they all ran faster than Olympic gold medalist Michael Centrowitz who finished in 3:50.
Ethiopian Demisse Tamiru bagged silver in 3 minutes, 48.49 sec, which is his personal best.
‘It wasn’t easy to get this gold medal, ‘ said Paralympic champion Baka. “I’ve been working one or two years non-stop and it’s been very, very hard for me”.
Henry Kirwa won bronze in the T13 men’s 1,500m final Monday dawn at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro to stretch Kenya’s medal tally to three in the Rio Paralympics Games.
There is some perspective to be had here, however.
Some people might assume with a time that fast that this class of 1500m final involved blades. The reason for the slow race can be attributed to the fact that long distance runners tend to stay together as a pack until kicking it into high gear at the end.
Still, Baka’s win is an incredible accomplishment and it has definitely convinced me to check out more of the Paralympics.
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What a great feel-good sports story. Bilel remained in the summit for a significant duration of the race but with two laps to go, Agripino dos Santos of Brazil made his move but it cost him dearly as he lost his footing to relinquish his lead nearly as soon as he had dislodged Hammami. But no, T12/13 is for visually impaired.
