Jason Smyth finished first in the 100m final on Friday afternoon to claim yet another gold medal. 

Smyth cruised through the race in a time of 10.64 to see off the competition, celebrating as he crossed the finish line.

Smyth eased through his heat on Thursday in a time of 10.76 to make it through to the t-13 100m final, giving him a chance to defend his gold medal in Rio. 

The Derry athlete was looking to secure his third successive gold medal and cement his place in the record books qualifying with the fastest time from both Heat 1 and Heat 2, and did so with ease on Friday afternoon.

President Michael D. Higgins has conveyed his congratulations to Jason Smyth on winning a fifth gold medal in the Paralympics. 

“Winning another gold medal, his fifth, is an extraordinary achievement for Jason Smyth, who has already established himself as a world class athlete. On behalf of the people of Ireland, I want to congratulate him on this success, and to thank him for being such a positive role model," he said.  

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has joined the President in offering congratulations saying: “I would like to congratulate Jason on his historic sprint triumph in Rio. To retain the T13 100m sprint title for the third Olympics in a row is a magnificent achievement and is testament to his talent, dedication and sheer hard work.” 

“It is a great honour that the fastest Paralympian on the planet is an Irishman and his haul of five Olympic medals ensures his place in the pantheon of Irish sporting greats,” he added.