American Roderick Townsend wins third Paralympic high jump gold medal, sporting showman’s hairstyle

With his hair dyed a color reminiscent of eyes in a Picasso painting, U.S. track and field team captain Roderick Townsend was ready to take a shot at a third straight Paralympic title.

“I’m a showman,” Townsend said, explaining the haircut he had done at a salon in Paris. “If they had booed me? I’d probably still be jumping.”

Instead of booing, the Stade de France crowd followed Townsend’s every command, sitting in silence or applauding, as he won the T47 high jump final on Sunday night, clearing 2.12 meters (6 feet, 11.5 inches) and collecting his third consecutive title. gold medal The T47 category is reserved for competitors who have lost part of an arm or have mild to moderate movement problems in an arm.

The American team celebrated the feat on social media, posting an image of Townsend “Three-Peat” with the caption: “THE KING OF HIGH JUMP T47.”

Townsend, 32, who has suffered from nerve damage in his right shoulder since birth, considers himself the “bad guy” and has made it his mission to be the “reason nobody else wins.” He will have another chance to play that role Tuesday in the long jump.

To win the high jump, Townsend had to overcome his best opponent, India’s Nishad Kumar, a Tokyo Paralympic silver medallist and runner-up in Paris. Kumar nearly reached the 2.12-metre mark on all three attempts, but hit the bar each time. He lay on the high jump mat for a long moment in defeat before Townsend came over to pick him up.

At the time, Townsend, of Stockton, Calif., told Kumar he was “phenomenal” and that he was pushing Townsend to do great things because they are both very competitive. Townsend said after the race that he had another goal in mind for Kumar: “I just want him to win as many silver medals as possible.”

Footage showed Townsend kissing his wife Tynita Townsend, who was holding their young son Rodney, and later a flag-draped Townsend celebrating with his son on the track.

After Townsend outplayed Kumar, he tried his luck further.

At the Tokyo Games, Townsend broke the high jump record with a leap of 2.15 metres before surpassing it at the Paris 2023 World Championships with a jump of 2.16 metres. This time, he was aiming for 2.17.

The crowd roared and cheered, but Townsend was ultimately unable to reset his record on Sunday, later revealing that he had suffered a hernia during the U.S. trials in July and was still recovering.