Said Gomez
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Panama
|
||
| Athletics (B3/T12/T13) | ||
| Paralympic Games | ||
 |
1992 Barcelona | 5,000 m |
|
1996 Atlanta | 1,500 m |
|
1996 Atlanta | 5,000 m |
 |
1992 Barcelona | 1,500 m |
|
1992 Barcelona | 800 m |
|
2000 Sydney | 5,000 m |
|
2004 Athens | 5,000 m |
 |
2000 Sydney | 1,500 m |
Said Gomez, born in 1966, is a Panamanian athlete. Visually impaired, having "lost his sight at a young age", he has represented Panama at five consecutive editions of the Summer Paralympic Games. He has won a total of eight Paralympic medals, of which three gold, and is the only Panamanian ever to have medalled at the Paralympic Games.
He was one of Panama's only two representatives during its inaugural participation in the Games, in 1992 in Barcelona. He funded his own participation. He entered three events in running, in the B3 category, and medalled in all three. In the 5,000m race, he won his country's first Paralympic gold medal with a world record time of 15:06.17. In the 1,500m race, he took silver in 4:02.32, just eight hundredths of a second behind French athlete Christophe Carayon, who set a new Paralympic record. In the 800m, he outran Carayon in the heats, but lost to him in the final. The Frenchman set a new world record in 1:54.79, while Gomez took silver in 1:55.67.
Gomez was Panama's only competitor at the 1996 Games, and entered two races (T12 category), winning gold in both. In the 1,500m, he stormed to a world record winning time of 3:57.53, more than six seconds ahead of Canada's Stuart McGregor, who won silver, and more than ten seconds ahead of Carayon in third. In the 5,000m, he set a Paralympic record, winning gold in 15:01.49 - with a stunning lead of over 53 seconds on silver medallist Diosmani Gonzales, of Cuba.
In 2000, he was again Panama's sole representative, and entered the same two races. This time, he finished third in the 1,500m (in 4:06.01), and second in the 5,000m (in 15:21.64), but preserved his record of winning a medal in every Paralympic race he had ever taken part in.
In 2004, Gomez entered the 5,000m and 10,000m races (T13 category), though this time he was not Panama's sole competitor, as compatriot Désirée Aguilar competed in swimming. Gomez ran the 10,000m race in 32:28.96, finishing fifth (out of 17), and thus failed to win a medal for the first time in his Paralympic career. However, he did win silver in the 5,000m (in 15:23.90), behind Kenya's Joseph Ngorialuk.
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