Canadian racer Lakatos wins Paralympic gold medal

PARIS — Brent Lakatos got the gold.

The veteran wheelchair racer from Dorval, Que., owns fistfuls of Paralympic medals, but not quite enough gold for his liking kept the 44-year-old racing to Paris.

Lakatos won the men's T53 800 metres Thursday for a 13th medal in his sixth Paralympic Games, and second gold after his first in 2016.

"Oh my gosh, its been eight long years and so many silver medals," Lakatos said after his race. "It's so good to finally be back. We're going to sing O Canada and it's a really great feeling."

Lakatos collected his second medal at Stade de France after a silver in the 400 metres.

He was a four-time silver medallist in Tokyo, where he finished behind Thailand's Pongsakorn Paeyo in the 100, 400 and 800 metres.

"Tokyo, I had so many silvers. I wasn't happy with that. Not really," Lakatos stated. "If I was going to retire, I wanted to try once more for the golds and that's why I'm back here."

Paeyo beat Lakatos in Sunday's 400 metres by just over a quarter of a second.

Lakatos' tactics in the 800 kept the Thai racer behind him. The Canadian was in control in the final sprint to win by just under a second.

"Lots of planning. The Canadian support staff is great. We had a great strategy going in," Lakatos said. "It was to come out and take control of the race in Lane 1 and I was able to not only do that, but block Paeyo in between the track and my chair and not let him out until the final sprint.

"We were able to execute the plan we came up with."

His time of one minute 37.32 seconds was off his world record of 1:31.69 set in 2019, but Lakatos was the only man in the final to go under 1:38. Paeyo crossed the line in 1:38.26, and Brian Siemann of the United States in 1:38.44

Lakatos suffered a stress fracture in his rib at the end of May, leaving him racing against time to return to form.

"It was really bad timing," he said. "I had seven weeks really to get back. I was able to get back to where I was before the injury."

As was the case at the Olympic Games, the victors at the track ring a bell engraved with the Paris 2024 logo. It will be hung in Notre Dame’s bell tower once the 861-year-old cathedral is restored from the 2019 fire.

"Part of history. That was something really cool," Lakatos said. "The lady asked if I wanted to ring the bell. I was like 'hell yeah I do". I was in there and put all my weight into that. I was rocking back and forth with the momentum."

The T53 classification is for athletes that can use their arms, but have little or no trunk movement. Lakatos sustained paralysis from a blood clot in his spine at the age of six when he slid into boards while skating.

Lakatos carried Canada's flag in Tokyo's closing ceremonies mere hours after placing fourth in his fifth event, which was the men's marathon. He'd won the London marathon in 2020.

Lakatos dialled back his workhorse schedule somewhat by leaving the marathon off his Paris program. He admitted racing the 5K on Saturday and the 400 on Sunday "was a bit too much", and a few days off before the 800 was beneficial.

"The 800 is a really fun race. It takes a little bit of everything. I've got good stamina from doing marathons and five thousands and the speed it takes in the start," Lakatos said.

He's married to Britain's Stefanie Reid, who won Paralympic long-jump silver in London in 2012. The couple live in Loughborough, England.

Reid is a CBC co-host for the Paralympic Games with Scott Russell, and her husband said he couldn't wait to hear what she said about his race.

Whether the 800 was his Paralympic swan song, Lakatos wasn't ready to say given his track record.

"I said after every Games since 2008 I was going to retire. It hasn't happened yet," he said. "I don't think I'm going to say anything right now."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2024.