Ireland’s Jason Smyth says he and his fellow Paralympian Michael McKillop deserve greater recognition.
Smyth, a five time Paralympic champion, believes his exploits are overlooked when compared with other sports.
“I’ve been in Paralympics since 2005 and never actually been beaten. I don’t know how many other people that fall under that category,” said Smyth.
“If it was boxing, football or rugby and someone had gone 12 years unbeaten we wouldn’t hear the end of it.”
The Northern Irishman, who has also won four gold medals at the IPC World Championships, has never been beaten in either the T13 100m or 200m.
McKillop, who will miss this year’s IPC European Championships because of injury, has previously expressed his frustration at how other sports stars are afforded more media attention than Para-athletes.
“It’s always for others to judge really but my opinion is the same as Michael’s,” added Smyth.
“I’ve won five Paralympic Gold medals [and] between European and Worlds over the last 10-12 years, [I’ve won] 16 or 17 gold medals.”
