Smyth all fired up as he aims to defend his Euro crown in Berlin

ULSTERMAN Jason Smyth, the world’s fastest Paralympian, will be hoping to add another major title to his already substantial haul in today’s World Paralympic European Championships 200m final in the Olympic Stadium, Berlin.

Smyth (31) will be competing for Ireland in the T13 visually impaired category in an event in which he will once again face world silver medallist Mateusz Michalski of Poland.

However, on current form, Smyth — who hails from Ebrington, Co Londonderry — should have little difficulty in successfully defending the European title he won in Swansea in 2014 .

London-based father-of-two Smyth (below) hit top form a week ago with a time of 21.40 seconds at Lee Valley, which equalled his performance when he took the World Paralympic title in London a year ago.

At the same meeting he also ran his fastest 100m time in two years of 10.53 seconds.

Smyth’s achievements are simply phenomenal, with no fewer than 16 major para awards to his name, including five Paralympic and seven world titles.

He said: “The reality is that I’ve been running since 2005 and haven’t actually been beaten. However, there is no way I’m going to go my whole career without that being tested or challenged. And the longer you’re in the game, the more likely that is to happen.”

It is very unlikely to happen today given Smyth’s form. Main rival Michalski is in the field of seven and has a season’s best of 21.81 seconds, which is probably safe for silver but is unlikely to trouble the Ulsterman.

Smyth, who holds the NI able-bodied 100m record of 10.22 seconds, will be attempting to hold something in reserve for the heats and final over the shorter distance on Thursday.

There will be significant Northern Ireland interest in these Championships.

In addition to Smyth, there is a welcome return under GB colours for Limavady’s Sally Brown, who competes over 100m, 200m and 400m in the T47 class.

GB’s huge 53-strong squad also includes 16-year-old Bangor schoolgirl Eve Walsh-Dann, who holds British records for 100m and 200m in the T36 category for mild cerebral palsy. Newcomer David Leavy of QUB is in a similar category and competes for Ireland in the 1,500m.

Multi-Paralympic champion Michael McKillop from Belfast is not competing due to injury.