Jonnie Peacock urges Lord Coe to include Paralympic athletics in Diamond League competitions

Double Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock has called on Lord Sebastian Coe to help him facilitate greater visibility for Paralympic athletics as he defiantly responded to his fifth-place finish in Paris.

Peacock failed to secure an individual medal at the Games for the first time after clocking 10.91 seconds in a thrilling T64 100m final at the Stade de France.

The 31-year-old named World Athletics president Lord Coe as he called for his event to be included in future Diamond League meetings.

World Athletics is a separate entity from World Para Athletics, while Diamond League meeting schedules are set by individual operators.

“It’s a race that I think people want to see,” Peacock said. “And it’s a race that I find exciting. It’s a race that changes and moves.”

“Seb Coe, I need you, we need you. And we need you to get us into the Diamond League.

“This is not a cheerleading event, not five minutes before the cameras turn on, but when the cameras are on. We have to be visible.

“We have to stop letting the Paralympic Games die. We have let them die for several years.

“A lot of media these days is debating the issue of visibility and representation.

“So where are we? Where are we in the Diamond Leagues? How many years have I been talking about this? 12 years? Not once in 12 years have we participated in the program. Why?”

“I want to participate in the Diamond League. And I think it’s time.”

Gold went to Costa Rican Sherman Guity in a Paralympic record of 10.65 seconds, with Italian world champion Maxcel Amo Manu taking silver and German defending champion Felix Streng completing the podium.

Streng’s compatriot Johannes Floors, with whom Peacock shared bronze at Tokyo 2020, finished fourth.

Peacock’s personal best of 10.64 seconds, set in 2017, would have been enough for the title.

“I’m better than these guys,” said the 31-year-old, who won T44 gold in London and Rio. “It’s me against me. I’m putting obstacles in my own way.”

“It’s not that those guys beat me. I beat myself this year. In 2017, Jonnie would have crushed those boys.”