Said Gomez

Who is Said Gomez?

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, 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.