Wheelchair athlete Austin Smeenk from Oakville, Ontario, secured a bronze medal at the Para athletics world championships for the second consecutive time, finishing third in the men’s 400-meter T34 final on a hot and humid day in New Delhi. His time of 49.43 seconds was slightly slower than his season best of 48.50 seconds but was sufficient to edge out Ali Radi Arshid of Qatar by a mere 9-100ths of a second, marking Canada’s first medal in India. Smeenk’s personal best time stands at 48.06 seconds, a world record achieved in June 2024.
Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana clinched the gold medal with a time of 48.01 seconds at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, followed by Rheed McCracken from Great Britain with a time of 48.67 seconds. In 2023, Smeenk claimed his first major championship medal by securing the world 400 bronze in Paris, along with a silver in the 100-meter event.
Reflecting on his achievement, Smeenk expressed, “Medals hold great significance, symbolizing our accomplishments. Today, I ranked third globally, which is quite an achievement. These medals are the result of immense dedication and hard work by the athletes, especially under challenging conditions.”
Last year in Paris, the 28-year-old athlete earned two medals at his third Paralympics, including a bronze in the 100 meters and a gold in the 800 meters. Notably, the 400 meters event was not part of the program at that time.
Smeenk, who was born with a hereditary form of paraplegia causing stiffness in his lower limbs, shared his gratitude for representing Canada and acknowledged the collective effort required to reach such milestones in individual sports. Among the 26-member Canadian team, he is one of the seven Paralympic medallists.
Canada had its most successful world championships two years ago in Paris, securing 14 medals, the highest count since winning 15 medals in 2013.
In a remarkable performance, Julia Hanes from LaSalle, Ontario, set a new Canadian record and surpassed the Americas mark in the women’s F34 javelin final with a throw of 16.86 meters, achieving a fifth-place finish. Hanes expressed her excitement about her personal best performance and her ambition to break the world record of 16.99 meters set by Lucyna Kornobys of Poland in 2019.
Additionally, on Monday, other Canadian athletes achieved notable results, including Addisyn Franceschini from Geraldton, Ontario, finishing sixth in the women’s discus throw F64 final with a personal best throw of 25.76 meters, and Nick Neri from Brampton, Ontario, placing seventh in the men’s 1,500-meter T13 heat with a time of 4:10.16.
Overall, the Canadian team displayed remarkable performances and resilience at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.