Jonnie Peacock storms to Paralympic gold
The 19-year-old, from Shepreth, brushed aside defending champion Oscar Pistorius last night
JONNIE PEACOCK, from Shepreth, last night cemented his place as the fastest amputee in the world after winning gold in the T44 100m Paralympic final.
Comfortably the youngest in the field, the 19-year-old ran a race of maturity that belied his years to see off defending champion Oscar Pistorius at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford in front of 60,000 home supporters.
Sprinting away from the blocks, he destroyed the field, leading from start to finish to shatter the Paralympic record of 11.08 seconds which he had equalled in the heats 24 hours earlier. Peacock crossed the line in 10.90.
Richard Browne of the USA was second, with Arnu Fourie of South Africa third and Pistorius fourth.
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“It was absolutely surreal tonight. The crowd was absolutely immense. This Games is definitely a legacy and to be part of that is amazing,” said Peacock. “I was so proud to be British.
“I was really annoyed with my start yesterday in all honesty. This time I knew I could actually push and my drive phase was probably the best it’s been in a race. At 60m I thought ‘I’m in the lead, what’s going on’. It’s crazy. But I think I nailed it in that race.
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“In all honesty I should have run quicker than that,” he added. “I should be going three-tenths faster. I’ve been running very quickly in training in the last two weeks and I haven’t put it out here.”
Peacock remains a teenager for another eight months but is already the Paralympic champion, world record holder and Paralympic record holder.
