Killarney high jumper Jordan Lee: ‘I’ve never really looked at myself as a guy with a disability’
Qualifying for the Paralympics is a notable achievement of itself, but for 20-year-old Killarney high jumper Jordan Lee, the Tokyo Games represents the beginning of a journey rather than the culmination of one.
Having only decided to take up para athletics following a chance meeting with Jason Smyth in December 2016, Lee now finds himself rubbing shoulders with the champion sprinter as part of a 29-strong Team Ireland contingent in the Japanese capital.
He has made rapid progress in a short space of time, securing a bronze medal at the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin and a respectable fourth in the most recent edition of that competition at Bydgoszcz, Poland in June of this year.
While he is ready to leave an indelible imprint on the T47 category — which gets underway at the Tokyo National Stadium this Sunday — Lee believes he is still a few years away from reaching his true peak as a Paralympics high jumper.
“I know deep down that my prime isn’t going to hit until 2028 really in Los Angeles or even 2024 in Paris. That’s when I’m really going to start jumping really big heights. In the meantime, I’m not going to be doing nothing. I really want to perform well and I want to perform to my best capability, and I want to compete. I’m not there to fill up the numbers,” Lee explained.
“Anybody who knows me, knows that I’m going out there to beat those guys. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. If it does, it does and we move on to the next target and the next mission. Realistically, I know the end goal is Los Angeles and Paris.”
What makes Lee’s career trajectory all the more impressive is the fact it wasn’t until January 2018 that he started working with a structured coach. Killarney Valley AC’s Tomás Griffin was the man eventually entrusted with this role and Lee quickly reaped the benefits of his intense training regime.
“In the space of seven months, the lead-up to the Europeans [in Berlin] from January 2018 to August 2018, I lost 10kg body weight and increased my overall speed by 30%. My PB increased from 1.50 metres to 1.84 metres in the space of four months as well. With a bit of structured training, with a bit of guidance, I was able to improve dramatically.
“Tomás is a really good guy and one of the things that he said to me when he met me was ‘look Jordan, I do see some serious potential in your ability to perform at a high level, but you have to give me 100% effort and nothing less.’ That’s where my mantra and the ‘100% or nothing’ mentality came into fruition. From Tomás.”
Even though Griffin had no prior experience of working with disabled jumpers, this was never going to be a deterrent for Lee. Despite having only one hand as a result of being born with amniotic band syndrome (in the womb, the umbilical cord wrapped around his left elbow, stopping the blood flow and growth), he has always considered himself to be an able-bodied athlete.
This steely mentality served him well during his teenage years, when he made history by becoming the first amputee to represent Ireland at international level in basketball. In a similar vein, the aforementioned Smith and Michael McKillop have regularly featured in able-bodied athletic competitions and Lee is doing likewise as he seeks to emulate their extraordinary Paralympic careers.
“I’ve never really looked at myself as a guy with a disability. I look at myself as a really good, top-quality athlete who just happens to have a disability on top of it. That’s the mentality that I still have now competing. For example, I’m currently in the top-10 in the senior able-bodied rankings.
“I’ve medalled consistently in able-bodied competitions as well. I don’t say that to gloat or anything like that. I just say that to show para-athletes do crossover into able-bodied competitions and win medals. Jason Smyth, Michael McKillop, and myself. I just want to follow in their footsteps really and continue their legacy.”