And it is not for less! the Limonense sprinter, Sherman Guity is happy with what he achieved at dawn this past Saturday when he won the gold medal in the 200-meter dash at the Paralympic games in Tokyo, He set a time of 21.43, thus establishing a new Olympic record and thus 25 years later, the National Anthem of Costa Rica was heard at the Olympic Games.
The race, in the T64 category, was held at the Olympic Stadium in the Japanese capital, at 5:15 a.m. (Costa Rica time), under heavy rain. The T64 category is for athletes with moderately limited lower leg movement, or the absence of one leg.
After the award ceremony, Guity said that the semifinal gave him the opportunity to correct a series of technical weaknesses that he presented, which were discussed with his coach. “Already in the final we corrected all that and I was able to get the gold and I am very happy with the result,” he emphasized.
From Costa Rica, his coach, Emanuel Chanto was happy and in statements he said he knew that Guity would take first place. “Thank God the results were given. It was a good race, the details in which he failed in the semifinal were corrected and I think that was part of achieving victory in the competition,” said Chanto.
Meaning of the sign
Moments before the pre-qualification competition, held on Friday at 8:34 p.m. -Costa Rican time-, Guity, before the cameras made a signal, which made people ask: what does he mean by that?
The sign is that he extended the palm of one of his hands and with the other placed two fingers vertically. He explained that it is a sign that his family invented when he went to the dancehall fever contest, which he won, and now he uses it in competition. “The meaning is leaving a mark,” Guity remarked.
Beating the favorite
The Tico faced in the final the considered great favorite, the German Felix Streng, who ended up leaving the silver, with a time of 21.78. Meanwhile, the bronze went to Jarryd Wallace, with 22.09. In the test he also faced Jonathan Gore (USA), Mpumelelo Mhlongo (South Africa), Michail Seittis (Greece), Levi Vloet (Netherlands) and Kenso Oshima (Japan).
Also a silver
Undoubtedly, he made mark, because in addition to the gold medal achieved, since the previous August 30th, in the category of 100 meters, in a very close race, he won the silver medal.
The competition was very close, as Guity made a mark of 10.78, while the German Felix Streng, with 10.76 achieved gold. The bronze was shared by the German Johannes Floors, and the British Johnnie Peacock. They both made a record of 10.79.
