Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk wins Paralympic gold medal

By The Canadian Press on September 7, 2024.

PARIS – Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk is a Paralympic Games gold medallist.

The 27-year-old from Oakville, Ont., won in the men’s T34 800 metres.

Smeenk collected his second medal after taking bronze in the 100 metres in Paris.

He set world records in both the 400 and 800 metres earlier this year.

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

He captured Canada’s eighth medal and fifth gold in para track and field in Paris.

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

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