Jason Smyth is a visually impaired Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 Paralympian

Paralympian

A Paralympian is an athlete who has participated in the Paralympic Games.A Paralympic athlete has a physical disability. The disability can be amputation, spinal cord injuries, visual impairment or cerebral palsy. An exception is the sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment...

. His central vision is affected by Stargardt's disease

Stargardt's disease

Stargardt disease, or fundus flavimaculatus, is an inherited juvenile macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss usually to the point of legal blindness...

. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

.

2008 Summer Paralympics

He won two golds for Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Ireland competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Ireland sent 45 athletes, competing in 9 sports. The country's flagbearer at the Games' opening ceremony was Patrice Dockery.-Medallists:-Athletics:...

 setting records at the Men's 100 metres T13

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics - Men's 100 metres T13

The Men's 100m T13 had its competition held on September 13, with the first round at 9:10 and the Final at 17:45.-Medalists:-Results:-References:***...

 and the Men's 200 metres T13

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics - Men's 200 metres T13

The Men's 200m T13 had its First Round held on September 15 at 9:46 and its Final on September 16 at 19:28.-Medalists:-Results:-References:***...

, which led some Irish news sources to compare his feat to that of Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt

The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...

, who achieved a similar feat at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

View pictures from the homecoming parade organised by the people of Eglinton to mark Smyth's achievement.

2010 European Athletics Championships

Smyth made history as the first Paralympian to compete at a European championships, qualifying for the semi-finals of the 100 metres

2010 European Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres

The men's 100 metres at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 27 and 28 July.-Medalists:-Records:-Schedule:-Heat 1:-Heat 2:-Heat 3:-Heat 4:-Heat 5:-Summary:-Semifinal 1:...

. Smyth ran 10.43 seconds, finishing 4th in his heat. He just missed out on the final by finishing 4th in semi-finals in a time of 10.47 seconds.