While Jaryd Clifford was left cursing his luck, James Turner took his turn to celebrate a performance for the ages on the track on day six at the Paris Paralympics.
After the heartache of his 5,000m disqualification earlier in these Games, Clifford’s pain was compounded by finishing fourth in the 1,500m by one-hundredth of a second.
Clifford clocked 3:44.95 on Tuesday in Paris but was edged by Russian runner Anton Kuliatin, who was competing for the Neutral Paralympic team and ran 3:44.94.
But there was better news for Turner soon after as he smashed his own world record en route to claiming Paralympic gold in the men’s T36 400m.
Turner was quickest off the mark at the Stade de France in Paris on Tuesday and began to take a lead as the runners made their way on the penultimate bend.
James Turner celebrates his world record and gold medal in the 400m T36. (Reuters: Stephanie Lecocq)
The 28-year-old then showed a remarkable turn of pace as he came down the home stretch to finish in a time of 51.54.
It beat Turner’s own world record of 51.71 which he set in Dubai in 2019. Turner has now won gold medals across Games in Rio, Tokyo and Paris.
Clifford’s narrow T13 1,500m loss came after he thought he had clinched a Paralympic bronze medal three days earlier in the 5,000m.
But as he made his way off the track at the Stade de France three days earlier, the 25-year-old, who is visually impaired, was told his result wouldn’t stand.
Clifford had been disqualified because he released the tether linking him to guide Matt Clarke as they crossed the finish line.
“It’s almost so ridiculous that it’s funny,” Clifford said.
“A DQ in the last metre and .01, like, it’s crazy that it’s three years of work, and the last metre of both races can define all of that. It’s pretty brutal.”
Clifford was distraught after his disqualification as Kuliatin was elevated to the bronze medal.
And the Russian was again the man to beat Clifford to the podium, despite the Victorian lunging towards the line in desperation to grab a medal.
“[In the 5,000m], I had a brain fade with a metre to go, dropping the tether that was probably the laziest moment of my career,” said Clifford, who doesn’t use a guide in the 1,500m.
“I just wanted to run through that line, I wished the dive had been earlier but that’s sport, man … it’s so tough, four years to go back to the drawing board.”
Jaryd Clifford led for much of the race, only to narrowly miss out on a medal. (Getty Images/NurPhoto: Ulrik Pedersen)
Clifford, who won two silver medals at Tokyo, is desperate to mark his career with a gold.
“I’m still younger than [Yassine] Ouhdadi, the Spaniard when he won his first gold medal, and he’s won a bunch now,” Clifford said.
“I’ll be in Brisbane, I’m not even capping it there, I love running so I’m just going to keep going.
“I hope one day I can come in here and be stoked, but it’s starting to feel like deja vu a little bit.”
AAP
