Decorated wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos claims silver for 1st medal in Paris
Quebec native finishes behind Thai rival in men's T53 400m for 12th career podium
Brent Lakatos was no stranger to winning Paralympic medals — he'd claimed 11 medals entering these Paris Games.
But his 12th, a silver in Sunday's men's T53 400 metre-race at the Stade de France, felt different for the longtime wheelchair racer.
"It's so different. In Tokyo, we had empty stands, of course, but here it's so different. It's amazing," Lakatos said. "There were lots of questions in my head about whether I could do it, and what my form would be like. So I'm glad to say I can answer those questions. It's going quite well so far."
The 44-year-old from Dorval, Que., crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 47.24 seconds, behind Thailand's Pongsakorn Paeyo, who won gold at 46.77 seconds to beat the Canadian for the second straight Games.
American Brian Siemann took bronze at 47.84 seconds, a personal-best time.
"You're always chasing the gold but a silver in those circumstances – I can't complain too much about it," Lakatos said.
WATCH | Lakatos lands silver medal in Paris:
Racing from Lane 8, Lakatos rolled to an early lead with a strong first 100 metres. But Paeyo, next door in Lane 7, slowly closed the gap by the halfway point and moved ahead of Lakatos entering the final straight.
The Canadian did not have the closing speed to catch up. Paeyo began pumping his fist before even crossing the finish line, while Lakatos cruised in behind him for silver.
"I was thinking down the final 100m, 'I'm going to catch him, I'm going to catch him'. But the line came up too soon. It often does that in the 400m," Lakatos said. "He's a really strong starter and a really good competitor. I think my best shot will be in the 800m."
The athletes also finished in the same order in the 400m at Rio 2016, where Lakatos won his lone gold ahead of Paeyo in the 100m.
Siemann, 34, said he looks up to his Canadian counterpart.
"Brent is an amazing competitor of mine. He's been supportive of me when I was young. We chat all the time in call rooms," he said. "Having him outside me in the final today pushed me a bit today, just trying to go a bit faster."
WATCH | Lakatos discusses latest medal:
He added that just being on the podium alongside Lakatos and Paeyo was an achievement in and of itself.
"These are some of the fastest guys in the world who are competing against T54s. In a race like this, when it's all of us in the mix, it's just a battle to that finish line," he said.
"I was really nervous before the race, but now I have a medal, I am really excited."
Lakatos was competing one day after posting a seventh-place finish in a gruelling 5,000m that saw the top eight competitors bunched within two seconds of each other.
Now, he's back on the podium with a ninth career silver medal, to go with one gold and two bronze.
