12 Days of Triumph: Two world championship golds keep Brent Lakatos on track for 2020

For this holiday season, we will be celebrating some of our favourite sport memories from throughout the year. Canada’s Para athletes achieved a lot in 2019, and we will be remembering one performance each day for 12 days. 

In the long and short of it, wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos appears ready to put on quite a show at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The 39-year-old, who was born in Inuvik and grew up in Dorval, Que., perhaps gave a glimpse of the future with his triple medal performance at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in November, including his 12th and 13th world titles. 

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He opened with a victory in the T53 100-m in a season’s best 14.50, set a Canadian and world championships record 1:38.38 en route to gold in the 800-m, and won silver in 400-m.

Lakatos heads into 2020 as the world record holder in the 100-m, 200-m, 400-m, 800-m and 1500-m. He has also put a lot of focus on the longer distances such as the 5000-m and marathon since the Rio Games.
The key to success in Tokyo will be maintaining his health through the year. That wasn’t the case in 2019.

‘’It’s been a rough season,’’ he said. ‘’It’s been the first season where I struggled with health type issues. It’s been a challenge to try and get back into shape and suffer another blowback and get back in shape again.’’

There’s been a lot of talk about the heat in Tokyo. Unlike the Olympics, the marathon for the Paralympics is still scheduled for Japan’s capital. Being blasted by a furnace doesn’t bother Lakatos.

‘’I like the heat,’’ he said about racing in Dubai’s sauna last month at the worlds. ‘’I find your muscles are looser, you can perform better. It’s much better than in cool weather so this isn’t a problem.’’