RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brent Lakatos missed gold in the men’s 400-metre T53 final for the second consecutive Paralympic Games, on Sunday, but he’s OK with that because it was one of his best performances ever.
Besides, he has another silver medal as a consolation prize, giving him five for his career.
“I can’t be disappointed with a time like that, it’s my second fastest time ever and to do that on this stage is great,” said Lakatos, from the media zone at Olympic Stadium. “I thought that would be good enough for gold.”
Lakatos wheeled a time of 48.53 seconds, but couldn’t catch the young upstart from Thailand, Pongsakorn Paeyo, who clocked in at 47.91. Currently, Paeyo has won two of his country’s three medals.
“I could see that I was closing the gap and I knew I was going to be closer to him on the corner, but he was a little bit stronger than me in the final stretch, he said. “This is the first time he’s gotten me I think in any race, he just stepped it up another level.
“That Thai guy is surprising everyone this week, he’s pushing so fast.”
Lakatos managed to edge Pongsakorn in the 100m final on Friday, winning his first-ever Paralympic-gold in the process, but the veteran knows his competitor will be a threat again when they battle for the 800m crown beginning on Wednesday.
He’s glad experience is on his side.
“He’s gonna be up there … I’ve got a lot more practice strategically than him, this is probably the second time he’s run at a big games and the first time I don’t think he made Finals . . . so I’ll use that to my advantage.”
Follow Tristan on Twitter @TristanJGarnett
