Jason Smyth adapting to Covid as he targets Paralympic gold
Like virtually every person across the globe, Jason Smyth has learnt to deal with Covid-19 in his own way over the past 18 months.
Whereas the Derry sprinter spent the majority of his time overseas in the lead-up to his previous appearances at the Paralympics, the pandemic severely restricted the preparations of the five-time gold medallist on the road to this year’s games in Tokyo. Save for a couple of brief training camps in the Canary Islands and Spain (in February and July of this year) Smyth has based himself on home soil since the spring of 2020.
While he says this has brought him out of his comfort zone, the 34-year-old has never been one to shy away from a challenge.
“It’s not just sport related. It’s for everybody with this last year, year and a half. It’s learning to do things differently, even the way we have interviews now on Zoom calls! Which is far easier than travelling down to Dublin. You can just sit for 15 or 20 minutes and then people move on to the next thing,” Smyth said.
“You’ve just learnt to do things differently and adapt to that. Again, running is no different. There is obviously a higher risk when you change things, because there’s more unknowns. Whoever succeeds out of it are those that are able to go with it and flow with it. Change and adapt where it’s needed.”
Smyth’s latest quest for Paralympics supremacy gets underway tomorrow at the Tokyo National Stadium, with round one of the Men’s 100m T13 due to take place between 4.28am and 4.47am (Irish time) and the final then following just over seven hours later.
Smyth has kept a low profile in advance of his fourth summer games as the North Belfast Harriers Steeplechase on July 10 was his first competitive race of 2021. However, he also competed at the Northern Ireland and Ulster Combined Event Championships four weeks later and believes his form in the latter suggests he is hitting his stride at precisely the right time.
“I ran 10.63 and then 10.67. Even though I haven’t raced as much, I’ve come in at a reasonable place, which is what I needed to do and what has worked out. Really, the work is done and now it’s just trying to adapt and change. Looking at fine-tuning a little bit and really it turns into a mental game at this stage.”
Since making their debuts at Beijing in 2008, Smyth and middle distance runner Michael McKillop have had a remarkable shared journey on the Paralympics stage. Antrim athlete McKillop has claimed four gold medals in three games to date and will be hoping to add to his medal haul when he races in next week’s 1,500m T38 category.
Once regarded as the new kids on the block, Smyth and his fellow Ulster man have now progressed to being the father figures in Team Ireland. “It has been incredible. We both came around in our first major championships in 2005 and it has been very successful all that way. I think when I step back and look at it for the Paralympics, you’re probably very unlikely to get that level of success again between two people over such a sustained period,” Smyth said.
“For us, it’s about continuing to enjoy it. Hopefully, also pass on some experience to the athletes coming up through the ranks as well.”