When Algeria’s Abdellataif Baka crossed the finish line in the men’s T13 1500m at the Paralympics on Sunday, he not only broke the world record, but he also ran a time that would have won the same distance at the Rio Olympics three weeks earlier.
It’s certainly not unprecedented for Paralympians in some classes to outperform Olympians — just look at long jumper Markus Rehm — but Sunday’s T13 1500m final was remarkable.
The T13 class is one of three Paralympic classes for athletes with visual impairments — T11, T12, T13.