Paralympics: 'Like running with a mirror image'

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00:00At the Paralympics, sprinting combines speed and team spirit.

00:06Timothy Adolph on the right is a blind runner accompanied by his guide Geoffrey Lamy on

00:11the left, who is also a competitive runner.

00:14For the pair, competing involves a sort of choreography.

00:20Before the start of the race, the two athletes are attached by a 10-centimeter cord.

00:24The tether is the same for all competitors.

00:27To avoid disqualification, it must always be in hand around the runner's fingers.

00:32How do you keep from losing it while running?

00:34Do you squeeze your fist?

00:35I run like this.

00:36I keep my fingers relaxed while I run.

00:39I do the same.

00:40My hand is halfway closed.

00:42We don't close our fists all the way because that causes tension.

00:46Each runner has their own lane, so during the race there's only room for four pairs

00:50on the track.

00:51Their ongoing obsession is to be in sync, as to not slow each other down or to hinder

00:56each other in any way.

00:58Timothy and his guide have been training together for seven years, and their pairing was no

01:03mistake.

01:04They have similar heights and running strides.

01:08To be synchronized, it's like running with a mirror image.

01:12That means when my left arm is in front, for him it's his right arm.

01:16And it's the same with our legs.

01:18It's always the opposite leg.

01:22To keep the same tempo while running at full speed, they touch elbows to sense the rhythm

01:27of the other.

01:28It's also a way for Jeffrey to indicate to Timothy when there are turns in the track.

01:33Near the finish line, the synchronization is lost as the guide slows down.

01:38To avoid being disqualified, a guide cannot finish before the athlete competing.

01:43They break their tether, and it's a moment of suspense as the runner risks falling.

01:48Timothy leans forward to gain a few centimeters as he crosses the finish line.

01:53Timothy is blind, so he has to trust someone else 100% in order to sprint.

01:57You could call it blind confidence.

01:59Exactly.

02:00He's running in the dark, so it's blind confidence.

02:04He tried to do it.

02:06It's not simple.

02:07Timothy runs the 100 meters almost as fast as sighted Olympic runners.

02:12His record is 10.9 seconds, just about one second behind Usain Bolt.

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