SMEENK Austin

Classification
T34 (IPC, 08 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Impaired muscle power (insidehalton.com, 28 Jun 2013)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019)

Impairment Details
He was born with hereditary spastic paraplegia [HSP]. The condition causes weakness and stiffness in the legs. He is able to walk short distances and ride a bicycle. (insidehalton.com, 28 Jun 2013; erinoakkids.ca, 15 Jul 2011; paralympic.ca, 01 Jan 2018)

General
RACE PREFERENCE
He initially competed in middle-distance events before switching his focus to the sprint events. "I'm competing currently [speaking in 2021] in the 100m and 800m. I also like to throw in the 200m and 400m, 1500m if we can, depending on what level of competition we're at. I consider myself a middle-distance guy who figured out his starts. The one thing at every race that you have to do is start. So the 100m was always kind of on the side to my middle-distance preparations. But once I'd figured out the explosive aspect that we worked on in the transitions so much with Lisa [Myers, coach], we were really able to make up some ground there and find my place to be in the sprints as well." (Islandstats YouTube channel, 04 Feb 2021)

PARALYMPIC DECISION
Despite qualifying for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, he decided not to compete at the event. Having discussed his options with his parents and his coach, the late Ken Thom, he came to the conclusion that it would be too soon for him to compete at the highest level given his young age, especially as he was using a borrowed wheelchair at the time. He went on to compete at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he represented Canada in the T34 100m and T34 800m. (SportsDeskOnline, 05 May 2017; msn.com, 19 Jul 2012; insidehalton.com, 18 Jul 2012; paralympic.ca, 01 Jan 2018)