GB star Jonnie Peacock rants after Paralympics misery as he demands change

Jonnie Peacock didn’t hold back on his feelings after missing out on a Paralympics medal in the men’s T64 100metre final in Paris. But it wasn’t just his own display that the 31-year-old was brutal about, also taking aim at the authorities and even Sebastian Coe in a wild rant over the treatment of para sports.

Peacock finished fifth overall, failing to add to his impressive medal collection after winning gold in London 2012 and defending his title in Rio four years later, before taking bronze in Tokyo.

But as well as lamenting his own display, Peacock also argued that disabled athletes deserved more exposure and endorsements than simply performing lie at the Paralympics once every four years.

His main gripe centred around the Diamond League, that has been running since 2010, only being open to the world’s best able bodied athletes. “If I’m honest, I’ve got to tell you - why are the Diamond Leagues not letting us run?” he said while trackside in his post-race interview.

“I want to call out the Diamond League. I want people online to tell them this is a race they want to see. I want para to be in the Diamond League and not just in the cheerleader events, not five minutes before the cameras turn on, but actually on the cameras because this is where it deserves to be.”

And he directly called out Coe, the current president of World Athletics. “This is a tough race, this is a good race, and this is an advert for para sport. And Seb, put it in the Diamond League man, we deserve to be there.”

The Diamond League comprises of 15 of the best annual invitational athletics meetings. It was designed as a more lucrative replacement for the IAAF Golden League, which had been held annually since 1998.

Peacock eventually finished fifth in 10.91 seconds, with Sherman Guity of Costa Rica taking gold. Silver went to pre-race favourite Maxcel Manu of Italy and Felix Streng of Germany won bronze.

Guity’s time of 10.65 seconds signified a new Paralympic record, but his rival was reluctant to acknowledge his display. "It's frustrating but 2017 Jonnie would have wiped the floor with all of them," he said.

The Cambridge-born star blamed his own display on a change of running blades, and immediately vowed to return strong in the Los Angeles games in 2028. "They need to come grab this leg off me, wrap it up and not let me touch it," he said.

"I've been moving it around since Tokyo and I started tinkering and I shouldn't have, I should have just left it alone and trusted the process. I know it’s there; my body isn’t tired yet. I put 60 metres together that I’m really happy with. Give me a few years: I’m not going anywhere and I’m finally on the way back.”