Four Paralympians beat the Olympic gold medal time in the 1,500
Visually impaired athletes outran their Olympic counterparts.
In the men’s 1,500 meter race at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, four competitors finished with a time better than that of the Olympic champion crowned only weeks ago.
Abdellatif Baka of Algeria claimed gold in the race, with a time of 3 minutes, 48.29 seconds. It was faster than the gold medal time of U.S. Olympian Matthew Centrowitz (3:50).
Baka wasn’t the only Paralympian to beat the Olympians. Tamiru Demisse of Ethiopia (3:48.59), Henry Kirwa of Kenya (3:49.59) and Fouad Baka of Algeria (3:49.59) also outpaced Centrowitz’s time.
The circumstances of the two races (distance and venue) were identical. The lone difference was that competitors in the Paralympics 1,500 T12/13 final have a visually impaired disability.
Olympic observers noted the slow pace of the 1,500 race that Centrowitz won (the first American to win that particular race since 1908). Centrowitz initiated this as a tactic to help control the race until the end when he ratcheted up his pace in what proved to be a winning move.
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