Brent Lakatos was no stranger to winning Paralympic medals — he’d claimed 11 medals entering these Paris Games.
But his 12th, a silver in Sunday’s men’s T53 400 metre-race at the Stade de France, felt different for the longtime wheelchair racer.
“It’s so different. In Tokyo, we had empty stands, of course, but here it’s so different. It’s amazing,” Lakatos said. “There were lots of questions in my head about whether I could do it, and what my form would be like. So I’m glad to say I can answer those questions. It’s going quite well so far.”
The 44-year-old from Dorval, Que., crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 47.24 seconds, behind Thailand’s Pongsakorn Paeyo, who won gold at 46.77 seconds to beat the Canadian for the second straight Games.
American Brian Siemann took bronze at 47.84 seconds, a personal-best time.
“You’re always chasing the gold but …