It's a hat-trick for American high jumper Roderick Townsend-Roberts. The current world record holder in the men's high jump T47 category [for those athletes with disability in at least one arm] has won the Paralympic gold medal for the third consecutive time at the Paris Paralympics 2024.
His wife Tynita Butts-Townsend was present at the Stade de France to cheer for him. Not only did she hug him soon after the event, she also wrote on her Instagram:
"This is all I ever wanted for you."
Roderick Townsend, who has both the world record as well as the Paralympic record to his credit, jumped to a seasonal best of 2.12m to win his third consecutive gold medal.
Nishad Kumar of India maintained his silver medal position from the Tokyo Paralympics with a best attempt of 2.04m. Georgii Margiev of Russia, who is currently representing under the Neutral Paralympic Athletes division, won the bronze medal with a jump of 2.00m.
Roderick Townsend will next compete in the men's long jump in the same category on September 3. His wife Tynita Townsend had represented the USA in the women's high jump event at the Tokyo Olympics. She managed a best of 1.82m, which wasn't enough to qualify for the finals.
Roderick Townsend's performance at the Paralympics over the years
Roderick Townsend-Roberts has been representing the USA at the Paralympics since the Rio edition of 2016. He has won five Paralympic medals and nine World Championship medals from both the high jump and long jump events, including four Paralympic gold medals and five Para Athletics World Championships gold medals.
The American high jumper began with a gold medal in the men's high jump T47 at the Rio Paralympics where he jumped to a height of 2.09m, a new Paralympic record at the time. He followed it up with a gold medal in the men's long jump T47 category with a 7.41m jump.
Townsend then represented the USA at the Tokyo Paralympics. He broke his own record to create a new world record of 2.15m in the men's high jump event. Nishad Kumar of India was tied with Dallas Wise of the USA on 2.06m, due to which the authorities awarded them a joint silver medal.
However, the American couldn't win back his gold medal in the long jump T47 event. Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes of Cuba won gold with a new Paralympic record of 7.46m, while Roderick Townsend had to be content with a silver medal after a best attempt of 7.43m.