At the Rio Olympics, Matthew Centrowitz Jr. took home gold in the 1,500-meter final with a time of 3 minutes and 50 seconds.。 On Monday, four runners with visual disabilities bested that time in the same event at the Rio Paralympic Games.
。 That's right. Not just one runner. Not two. Not even three.。Four
。.。 Algerian Abdellatif Baka led the pack, clinching gold and setting a Paralympic world record with a time of 3 minutes and 48.29 seconds. 。 Ethiopia's Tamiru Demisse and Kenya's Henry Kirwa got silver and bronze, respectively.
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。 The fourth-place finisher? Baka's brother, Fouad Baka, who also recorded a better time than Centrowitz did at the Rio Olympics.
。 The four Paralympic runners competed in the International Paralympic Committee's T13 class, which includes visually impaired athletes. The T11 and T12 classes also indicate visual impairment, with a lower number corresponding to more severe impairment. 。 Athletes in the T13 class "have the least severe visual impairment eligible for IPC Athletics," according to the IPC. "They have the highest visual acuity and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees radius."。 It's important, though, to mention Centrowitz's strategy in the Olympic 1,500-meter final. The American gold medalist shot to the front of the pack early on, then used his position to control a tactically slow pace for the remainder of the race.
。 Still, Baka brings home a world record, a gold medal and a time stamp that makes him the fastest 1,500-meter runner in Rio this summer. Visually impaired or not, that。is impressive。 is impressive。 Via Giphy。