Canadian wheelchair racer Smeenk wins Paralympic gold medal

PARIS — Austin Smeenk rang the bell with gusto as Canada's track and field team capped a solid Paralympic Games at Stade de France.

With Smeenk's victory in wheelchair racing's T51 800 metres and Nate Riech's silver in the T38 1,500 metres on Saturday, Canada's racers, runners and throwers combined for nine medals, including five gold, for the most of that colour since 10 in Beijing in 2008.

Nine medals, all won by men, bettered the eight in Tokyo three years ago and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

"The level of professionalism on our team was just outstanding," said Riech, the team's co-captain.

Track and field victors at the Olympic and Paralympic Games rang a bell engraved with "Paris 2024" at Stade de France. The bell will be installed in a tower at Notre Dame Cathedral when that iconic landmark is restored from a 2019 fire.

Smeenk coveted the rite after watching other Canadian athletes grab the rope for a satisfying clang.

"Fantastic," the 27-year-old from Oakville, Ont., declared. "I've been looking forward to doing that since Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers did it about a month ago."

Katzberg and Rogers won hammer throw gold at the Olympic Games. Para counterparts who delivered gold were Smeenk, Victoria wheelchair racer Cody Fournie in a pair of sprints, Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., in the 800 metres and Greg Stewart of Kamloops, B.C., in men's shot put.

Smeenk, who set world records in both the 400 and 800 earlier this year, captured the first Paralympic gold of his career. The 400 wasn't on the program in Paris, but he was also a bronze medallist in the 100.

Smeenk threw his arms in the air before the finish line in Saturday's 800 metres. He beat the surging Chaiwat Rattana of Thailand by two-tenths of a second.

"Don't do that, other people and other athletes," Smeenk said. "I'm sure the coaches will appreciate me saying that. I was ultra-confident that I had everybody beat, so that's where that came from.

"Pride comes before the fall and that could have been a real risky move. Don't take risks that are unnecessary, especially at the Paralympic Games. Luckily I was on the winning side of that gamble."

His fiancée Celine Trapnell was among over a dozen family members and friends at the stadium to cheer on Smeenk in his third Paralympic Games.

Smeenk was born with spastic paraplegia, which is a hereditary disease causing progressive stiffness and contraction in the lower limbs.

The electromechanical engineering technology student put those studies on hold to relocate to Victoria in 2022 and train at Athletics Canada's West Hub with Riech, Fournie and other athletes.

Smeenk put his education to work, however, as part of a team that designed his racing chair.

"Learning to think scientifically has been crucial in refining my racing chair to the level that it's the lightest racing chair of all my competitors as well as one of the best racing chairs, I believe, at the Paralympics this year," he said.

"Smarter every day with the things that I've learned and applied that to the world of wheelchair racing as best I can."

As for how much difference the chair made in winning gold, Smeenk said: "Is it the hockey stick or is the athlete? Is it the golf club or the person swinging it?'"

"It all comes together and to put any specific fraction or percentage on that is near impossible," he continued. "It's the culmination of doing the work physically as well as getting the racing chair to the best it can be."

Riech arrived in Paris the defending champion in the 1,500. The 29-year-old from Victoria had a knee injury in April that limited his training to the pool.

The Canadian surged from fourth into podium contention coming off the final turn, but couldn't catch Tunisian victor Amen Allah Tissaoui. Riech edged bronze medallist Reece Langdon of Australia by a hundredth of a second.

"I'm just proud that I came back the way I did," Riech said. "These last three weeks I've just been moving in workouts, so I really thought that last 120 that I usually have would be there. I just didn't have that push that I usually have.

"With 120 to go, I thought I was going to win this dang thing. I tightened up with 50 to go."

Riech suffered a brain injury at age 10 when a golf ball hit him in the back of the head, which affected the right side of his body.

Since he didn't compete until the final night at the track, Riech spent time in Paris writing letters to people, including fiancée Cherie Hewlett.

"I bawled my eyes out when I wrote it to her and told her how much she meant to me," Riech said. "When I won in Tokyo, she wasn't my girlfriend or fiancée. I really wanted to show her the man and the athlete I am.

"I knew there was a chance that I would not win here today, and I wanted to show that the man she's going to marry stands up and says when I lose, I hold my head up high and I congratulate my competitors. That's the man she fell in love with, so I just try to be him every day."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.