Ireland's Jason Smyth will become the first Paralympian to compete at the European Athletics Championships when he runs in the men's 100m on 27 July.

Ireland's Jason Smyth, 23, will be making history when he steps up to the blocks for the 100m at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona on the 27 July. Smyth will become the first Paralympian to compete at the European Athletics Championships.

 

His ambitions however don't stop here as he is also aiming for an unprecedented Olympics/Paralympics double in 2012.

“Half the battle in achieving your goals is just believing you can do it,” he says and Smyth has backed up his belief with results.

This season, the partially sighted Derry man who struck Paralympics double gold in Beijing, stormed to a personal best 10.32 in Antrim in June.

It was six years ago that a teacher at his school recognised his potential and sent him to the local athletics club. It was when his father mentioned the fact that his son was partially sighted to coach Stephen Maguire that they started to look at the Paralympics.

Smyth was only eight when he contracted the Stargardt's disease, a genetic disorder leading to a reduction in his vision.

“The quality of my vision is about 10per cent compared to that of a person with full sight,” he explains.

Though based in Derry, Smyth's coach is a friend of former world champion Tyson Gay's coach, Lance Braumann and occasionally, Smyth finds himself rubbing shoulders with one of the world's fastest men at his base in Florida.

“At the start it was daunting, “he says of the trip to Orlando last autumn.

“But it's been great. Training with able-bodied athletes who are faster than me helps me to be better.”

The fruits of that trip were seen in a personal best of 21.09 for 200m in Tampa in May and a personal best last month. Now – apart from rewriting the history books - all Smyth wants to do is make his mark on a bigger stage.