RIO de JANEIRO, Brazil, Sep 14 – Kenya’s visually-impaired athlete Samwel Kimani completed a double on Tuesday, adding 1,500m gold to the 5,000m titles he won at the ongoing 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
Expectations in Rio were high for local star and multiple world champion Odair Santos in the men’s 1,500m T11, but it was 26-year-old Kimani who proved to have the superior sprint finish, striding past the Brazilian in the final 50m to take his second gold of Rio 2016.
“I feel so good winning the race,” said Kimani, who crossed the line in 4:03.25. “That was my target to win that race and I am grateful. I heard the crowd and they gave me the motivation to run faster and to win the race.”
Referring to his guide James Boit, who he has trained with for the last seven years, he said: “We live together as brothers. My best friend and my brother also.”
Santos clocked a season’s best 4:03.85 as he claimed his second silver of Rio 2016 while Turkey’s Semih Deniz (4:05.42) won bronze – IPC.
Kimani’s two gold medals saw Kenya have a total of four medals adding to the two bronze medals.