A Leamington athlete has
achieved his dream by winning gold in the Paralympics in Sydney.
Bob Matthews, aged 39,
made up for bad luck four years ago in Atlanta when he was
disqualified from the silver medal position in the 10,000m.
Running in the T11 class
for visually-impaired runners, he was ruled out of the reckoning
when his guide got in front of him by a tiny margin on the line.
Visually impaired
runners are connected by a rope to a guide who can see and help
them round the track.
For long distance races
such as the 10,000m, two guides are used in case one person
cannot keep up with the athlete.
The guide is not allowed
to go in front as he could be deemed to be helping the athlete
keep his pace.
Bob’s victory last
week helped round off more success for the British team on the
track, and in the overall games the team is ranking high in the
medals table.
It was his seventh gold
medal, but his first for eight years. He also competes in the
5,000m and the marathon, and will be hoping to make it to the
5,000m final on Wednesday morning.
