Roderick Townsend clinches high jump three-peat at Paralympics in Paris

With his hair dyed in a style reminiscent of the eyes in a Picasso painting, Team USA captain Roderick Townsend was ready to compete in his third Paralympic Games.

“I’m a showman,” Townsend said, explaining the haircut he had gotten at a Paris salon. “If they had been out there booing me? I probably would still be jumping.”

Instead of booing, the Stade de France crowd followed Townsend’s every command, sitting silently or cheering, as he won the T47 high jump final on Sunday night, clearing 2.12 meters (6 feet, 11.5 inches) for his third straight gold medal in the event. The T47 category is for competitors who have lost part of an arm or have mild to moderate mobility problems in one arm.

Townsend, 32, who has a deformity in his upper right shoulder after suffering nerve damage at birth, sees himself as the “bad guy” and is on a mission to be the “reason no one else is allowed to win.” He’ll get another shot at that role on Tuesday in the long jump.

To win the high jump, Townsend had to beat top Indian competitor Nishad Kumar, who had won silver in Tokyo and was second again in Paris. Kumar nearly cleared 2.12 in his three attempts, but hit the bar each time. He lay defeated on the high jump mat for a while before Townsend came over to hug him.

At the time, Townsend, of Stockton, California, told Kumar that he is “phenomenal” and he pushes Townsend to do great things because they are both so competitive. Townsend said after the event that he has another goal in mind for Kumar: “I just want him to win as many silver medals as possible.”

After surpassing Kumar, Townsend went for more.

At the Tokyo Games, Townsend broke the high jump record with a leap of 2.15 metres, before surpassing himself at the 2023 World Championships in Paris with a leap of 2.16 metres. This time he was aiming for 2.17.

The crowd cheered and clapped, but Townsend ultimately failed to improve his record on Sunday. He later revealed that he had suffered a hernia during the US trials in July and is still recovering.