Brent Lakatos’ last five Paralympic medals were silver and the two before that were bronze. Needless to say, the wheelchair athlete was eagerly awaiting the Paralympic title he won on Thursday in the T53 800m.
Now a 13-time Paralympic medallist, including two golds, Brent Lakatos confidently declared that he would be one to watch in this event, moments after winning silver in the T53 400m.
“I expect even better for the 800m! I really think it will be my strongest event,” said the man who also competed in the 5000m T54 and the 1500m T53 in Paris, his sixth Paralympic Games.
The Dorval native put his words into action on Thursday on the purple track at the Stade de France, and he did it with panache. The reigning world champion in the 800m T53 quickly took the lead in this final. In the second round, with about 200 meters to go, Lakatos managed to block the path of his rival Pongsakorn Paeyo, from Thailand. The one who had won gold in this distance, in Rio and Tokyo.
This time, the Canadian representative accelerated after defending his first place and Paeyo was unable to keep up. The winner’s lead only widened in the final stretch. He recorded a time of 1:37.32 and crossed the finish line 1.06 seconds ahead of the Thai. American Brian Siemann finished third in 1:38.44.
“We had a good strategy, which was to take control of the race from the start. Not only did I manage to do that, but I also closed the door on Paeyo! I executed the plan well until the final sprint,” summarized Brent Lakatos.
It took eight long years and a lot of silver medals! It feels so good to be back on top of the podium at the Games. Let’s sing O Canada tonight!
Brent Lakatos
After the race, a lady asked him if he wanted to ring the bell at the Stade de France, as Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists are accustomed to doing.
“Of course I want to!” Lakatos quickly replied. “It was something really cool. I gave it everything I had.”
A bronze medalist in Rio and silver in Tokyo in the 800m, the Canadian has enjoyed a lot of success over the distance in recent years. His world record of 1:31.69, set in 2019, still stands.
“The 800m is definitely my favorite distance. I developed a lot of endurance doing 5000m and marathons and it’s a race where you need a good start, good speed and knowing how to maintain it, as well as using strategy. It requires a little bit of everything!” explained the gold medalist.
A Paralympic cycle like no other
Brent Lakatos was assured of his best result of the season on Thursday, simply because it was his first-ever 800m race.
“I was in excellent shape and I started to feel pain last May,” recalled the man who suffered a stress fracture to a rib in training.
“I had 7 weeks to prepare for my return and get back to where I was before the injury.”
His Paralympic cycle began with a break from the sport of about 18 months after the Tokyo Games. Lakatos quickly made his mark upon his return, winning three medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2023.
He still chose to reduce his program in anticipation of his sixth Games, going from six to four events in total. The 100m and the marathon were going to be contested without him in Paris. A decision he does not regret, quite the contrary.
“If I hadn’t decided that before the injury, I wouldn’t have had a choice after anyway,” he said. “It helped me a lot in my preparation, because I didn’t have to train with two types of gloves for the different starts.”
“I’ve been very lucky throughout my career. No major injuries, except this year, and a whole team behind me. I’m very grateful to be part of this team,” said the 44-year-old, who in the past has often raised the possibility of retiring after a Paralympic Games…
“I think I said I would retire after every Games since 2008! It still hasn’t happened, I think I’ll just not say anything this time! We’ll wait and see.”