Story by Athletics Canada
DUBAI - Brent Lakatos continued his strong performances at the 2019 World Championships on Day 3 in Dubai, UAE. After winning the gold medal in the men’s 100-metre T53 final on Friday, Lakatos was back on the track to compete in the 400-metres T53 qualifying round and finals.
Qualifying for the 400-metre T53 final with a time of 49.99 in the morning session, Lakatos was returned hours later to claim the silver medal in the event, improving his qualifying time to 48.33.
Day 3 from the Dubai Club offered numerous top eight finishes for Canada, topped off with another Canadian record by Liam Stanley in the 400-metre T37 qualifying round. Running through the finish line with a time of 54.18, surpassing his own previous record of 55.04 from the Canadian Track & Field Championships in July. In the final, the 22-year-old finished in fifth place with a time of 55.46.
Austin Smeenk was back in action for the men’s 400 T34 final, clocking 53.39 to finish in fifth place. Diane Roy got her World Championships underway in the women’s 800-metre T54 final, continuing the strong performances for Canada, with a fifth place finish herself.
In the women’s 400-metre T54 final, Jessica Frotten pushed to a seventh place finish with a time of 1:02.27 after qualifying for the final early today with a time of 1:00.10.
Thomas Normandeau wrapped up his first World Para Athletics Championships with an eighth place finish in the men’s 400-metre T47 final, clocking in at 52.99.
Making their World Para Athletics Championships debut, Amanda Rummery and Amy Watt gained valuable experience with strong performances in the women’s T47 400-metre and long jump competitions. Coming through the finish line strong, Rummery finished with a time of 1:04.35 in the 400-metres while Watt finished in eighth with a longest jump of 4.69-metres in the women’s long jump final.
Day 4 from the the Dubai Club continues tomorrow as Sarah Mickey kicks things off for Canada in the women’s discus throw F55 qualifying round. Austin Smeenk will join Lee Leclerc once again in round one of the men’s 100-metres T34, while Jessica Frotten, and Diane Roy will look to build off today’s finals performances in the women’s 1500-metres T54 qualifying round.
The World Para Athletics Championships are the largest Para sport event to be held before the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and run from November 7 to 15 in Dubai. More than 1,400 athletes from almost 120 nations are competing.
Viewers will be able to follow the action via the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and CPC Facebook page, as well as the Radio-Canada Sports app and radio-canada.ca/sports.
For the broadcast schedule, please visit Paralympic.ca/Paralympic-Super-Series.
