But from the small city of Derry in Northern Ireland, a new Paralympic star is emerging from the shadows with seemingly far more of a chance than even the great South African of competing at both the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

His name is Jason Smyth and it now appears just a matter of time until the softly spoken and likeable 22-year-old becomes the next big global Paralympic star and the man to whom the media lenses are set to focus.

Through sheer appearance, it is difficult to spot that the relatively short but extremely muscular athlete actually has a disability but Smyth’s central vision is affected by Stargardt disease; a genetically inherited juvenile macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss usually to the point of legal blindness. The condition means that Smyth has a limited ability to see things around him but rather unfortunately for his rivals; the condition has absolutely no affect on his blistering speed.

Smyth's outrageous potential as a sprinter was made very clear when at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games where he had just turned 20, he claimed two gold medals with victories in the 100 and 200 metres in the T13 category. His winning times of 10.61sec in the 100m and 21.43 in the 200m meant that he smashed his both of his own world records in the finals leading some Irish news sources to compare his success to that of Usain Bolt who achieved a similar feat at the Beijing Olympics.

For Smyth, though, Beijing was just the start and not long after the Paralympics, he made the huge decision to head to Florida to train alongside the world’s second fastest man Tyson Gay. Under the tutelage of Lance Brauman and his own coach Stephen Maguire, Smyth excelled at his new training base where many of the world’s top sprinters reside and his results are clear proof of the fact.

Smyth has consistently lowered his personal bests since training in Florida to the point where they now stand at 10.32 in the 100m and 21.09 in the 200m while he has also become the first Paralympian to qualify for the European Championships which take place in Barcelona next month. He unsurprisingly claimed two golds in the T13 100m and 200m at the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup last month despite a minor slip in the latter event.

Smyth then followed that by claiming the biggest scalp of his career by beating reigning European champion Francis Obikwelu into second place at the European Team Championships 1st League competition in Budapest with a wind assisted time of 10.27.



However, the Irishman is far too modest to attribute his dramatic rise to his amazing physical gifts and instead credits his new training camp and Gay in particular with his phenomenal recent successes.

"I have learnt so much training out in the US and I am continuing to learn all the time I am there," Smyth told me in his usual upbeat manner. "I was quite nervous heading out there to train with a load of sub ten second runners who have won world titles but they made me feel very welcome and they have really accepted me as part of the group. It’s brilliant and no matter what sport you doing, if you are in an environment where you compete alongside the best, that is where you learn the most.

"They are always willing to help and to explain things and Tyson will sometimes come up to me and say, ‘Maybe this it what you should work on’ or he will point something out to me and I am obviously really grateful for that because he knows what it feels like to be the best and he’s experienced being at the very top so there really is no better way to learn."

As an athlete hailing from Northern Ireland, Smyth was in a situation where he had the choice of whether to compete for Great Britain or Ireland at international level. Smyth obviously chose the latter but rather surprisingly, the young man from Derry was not overly concerned by which nation he represented before he pulled on the Ireland vest.

"There is no real reason why I compete for Ireland rather than Great Britain other the fact that Ireland approached me first. Ireland were more willing to get me on their team than Great Britain were and just showed a lot more interest in me. It felt like Great Britain wanted to see how I would turn out but Ireland were really supportive and took a gamble on my potential and I hope I have repaid them."

Now that Smyth is hot property and would no doubt be welcomed onto the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team with open arms, I ask him if he would consider a switch of allegiance. Smyth simply laughs. "No, I will continue to represent Ireland and show loyalty to them because of the faith they showed in me."

So in the green of Ireland, Smyth is set to tread new territory for a Paralympic athlete. As well as competing against the top able-bodied sprinters on the continent at the European Championships, he is set to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October before competing at the World Championships next year ahead of what he describes at the "big one" at London in 2012.

The A-standard qualifying time for the 100m at the London 2012 Olympics is set to be around 10.21 while the B-standard will be around 10.28. With the rate Smyth is improving, the times seem very achievable and even the Irish record of 10.18 run by Paul Hession in 2007 seems within reach. I get ahead of myself talking to Smyth and ask if a sub-ten second run is possible for him in a feat that would make him the first white athlete to achieve the distinction.

Smyth is amused by the suggested and while not ruling it out, he says he is just focused on doing things one step at a time. "I am just looking to slowly improve my own form and gaining the experience of competing at major Championships like the Europeans and Commonwealths is great but I am not targeting a medal there or anything.

"The faster you go, the harder you must work to keep lowering your times but that is something I am continuing to do in training. I don’t actually have a time in mind that I want to reach; I am just focused on going faster each time I run and improving my personal bests."

Despite his recent success in the 100m, Smyth claimed that his favourite event is the 200m while he has not ruled out competing in the 400m in a bid to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics. But in whichever event he decides to compete, it seems more than likely that Smyth will line up on the blocks at the London 2012 Olympics in what will be a breakthrough moment for both him and the Paralympic Movement.

"London is the big one for me and to qualify for both the Olympics and the Paralympics would mean a huge amount to me as it’s never really been done before," he said. "I constantly like being pushed and having a new goal to try and better myself and that is why the 2012 Olympics are a good target for me."

But no matter how far he goes or how many victories he claims against the top able bodied sprinters, Smyth is adamant that his role in able bodied sport will primarily be as an ambassador for the Paralympics.

"If I do make the 2012 Olympics, I will be there as an ambassador for Paralympic sport and hopefully people might want to know more about the Paralympics by seeing me compete there," said Smyth.

"It would be great for me to be there because it just shows that nothing is impossible. It would show that Paralympians can compete alongside the best able bodied athletes. I don’t fear competing with the best able bodied competitors because I train with sub-ten second 100m runners like Tyson everyday.

"So if I can go to the Olympics as a Paralympian and show no fear against the top sprinters in the world, hopefully it can inspire others and just show everyone what we are all about. But the Paralympics and Paralympic meets will always be extremely important to me. I love racing at them and I will never stop competing at them as long as I am running."

So with his enormous talent, tremendous accomplishments and the seeming inevitability that he will compete at the London 2012 Olympics, Smyth appears destined to be the next face of the Paralympic Movement. But couple these factors with his down-to-earth personality, his maturity and his complete awareness of his responsibility and you feel the Movement is very secure in the hands of Jason Smyth.

Tom Degun is the Paralympics correspondent for insideworldparasport.