A sprinter embodied the spirit of sportsmanship at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games .
Before the mens 100-meter T38 final last week, Team USAs Jaydin Blackwell was captured on camera helping an opponent out so that he could also participate in the race.
In a short clip featured on the Paralympics official TikTok account, Blackwell can be seen helping Team Chinas Peng Zhou secure some strapping on his upper leg. Zhou thanks him, and Blackwell sweetly pats Zhou on the chest in a youve got this type of gesture.
After this simple act of kindness, Blackwell went on to not only smoke his competition and win gold, but to also break a world record with his time of 10.64.
The Paralympics account summed up Blackwells sportsmanship and win perfectly with a caption:
Helps another athlete with their strapping then breaks the world record. Jaydin Blackwell embodying the Paralympic spirit
After the race, Blackwell told the Independent that he was shocked by his own performance.
It felt like it was a little bit slow, he said of his start and speed in the race. When I looked at the line as I crossed the screen and saw 10.64 (seconds) I was thinking OK, alright, lets go.
Blackwell also went on to win another gold and set another world recond on Tuesday, in the 400-meter T38 final, with a time of 48.49 .
The T38 classification is for track athletes with coordination impairments. Blackwell has cerebral palsy but wasnt diagnosed until he was 6, according to his bio on Team USAs website . He started his track career at the Motor City Track Club in Detroit and eventually took his talents to Purdue University Northwest.
Although Blackwell has proven to be an asset to Team USA on the track, he dreamed of being an NFL star as a child, according to the Independent. But his mother told the outlet she had a feeling he wasnt cut out for the sport for a very sweet reason.
He was faster than anyone else but he was just too kind and polite, she told the Independent.
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