Athletics news: Jonnie Peacock - I'm not the favourite for Paralympic sprint title

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 23/08/2021 at 08:45 GMT

Jonnie Peacock triumphed at both the London and then the Rio Paralympic Games in 2012 and 2016 respectively. However the Briton believes that Germany have the favourite athletes for the event at Tokyo as he struggles to overcome a hamstring injury that he suffered earlier in the year, which is hurting his form.

British sprinter Jonnie Peacock is not focused on winning a third title at the Tokyo Games at the Paralympics.

The 28-year-old athlete won at the 2012 London Games and the Rio Olympics in 2016, but a hamstring injury this season has hampered his form in the run-up to the 2021 Games.

As a result he believes the most likely victor is Germany's Felix Streng for the T64 100m.

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"Winning a third consecutive Paralympic title is something I never dreamed would be possible," he said to BBC Radio 5 Live.

As elite athletes, this is the biggest stage. It is the 11 seconds that matter and I will give it absolutely everything.

"It will be a great spectacle and it's a race I would love to watch if I wasn't part of it."

Streng - a Rio bronze medallist - and another German, Johannes Floors, are expected to push Peacock all the way, with the heats due for Sunday August 29, ahead of the following day’s final.

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"Felix and Johannes have been running extremely fast times over the past couple of years," said Peacock.

Felix is having the best season of his life and has run three-tenths of a second quicker than me this year.

"He is the favourite and should be the favourite because of the times he has run.

"He has an incredibly fast start and me and Johannes are top-end runners. The way I imagine it will go is he will get out first and it will be whether we can catch him over the last 40m.

"I know I had a slow start to the season but things are slowly lining up and I'm feeling in really good shape. The signs have been really positive and the confidence is building."

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