The 21-year-old from Derry is hoping to join South African Oscar Pistorius and qualify for both the Olympics and Paralympics at London 2012 after winning two gold medals in Beijing last year.

 

Smyth, who competes for Ireland, won the 100 metres in the category for visually impaired athletes, in 10.62sec, beating the world record he set in the qualifying heat of 10.81.

 

In the 200m, Smyth won in 21.43, breaking the world record he had set in qualifying by a massive 0.38.

 

He has now arranged to work later this year Lance Brauman, who coaches Campbell-Brown and guided Tyson Gay to the greatest success of his career. 

Smyth’s mentor Stephen Maguire has been in regular contact with Brauman about the prospect of working with the sprintr, who suffers from Stargardt’s Disease, a degenerative impairment that affects his central but not peripheral vision.

 

Maguire said: “Qualifying for the Olympics is realistic.

 

"If you look at his times you would say the chances are slim.

 

"But we believe that if can get quality training partners, and work on his strength and technique it is possible.

“Last year I developed a relationship with Lance and he is very interested and excited.”

 

Campbell-Brown was part of the outstanding success enjoyed by Jamaican athletes at the Olympics in Beijing last year as she retained the 200m title she had won in Athens in 2004.

 

At those Games in the Greek capital she had also won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay and a bronze in the 100m.

 

At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Campbell-Brown had captured the 100m title and in the process became the first athlete (male or female) to win the full offering of International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) sprint titles available.

 

She had also won World Youth 100m in 1999 and the IAAF World Junior in 2000.

 

Gay, 26, won three gold medals at the 2007 World Championships in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay.

 

But his Olympic hopes were ruined in Beijing after he failed to reach the final of the 100m because of injury and he is now coached by Jon Drummond.

The Irish Sports Council (ISC) and their Northern Ireland Sport Council have both backed Smyth's plan.

 

Smyth finished 2008 ranked second overall in the rankings behind Paul Hession, who reached the semi-finals of the 200m at the Olympics and only missed out on a place in the final alongside Jamaica's Usain Bolt by one place.

 

Maguire said: “We would look at the 200m, 400m and possibly the 4x400m replay [for London 2012] if Ireland had a team.” 

 

Smyth's condition is the same as that suffered by American distance runner Marla Runyan, who became the first legally blind track athlete to take part in the Olympics in 2000, in the 1500m, having competed in the Paralympics four years earlier.

 

Smyth could have competed for either Britain or Ireland but claims that UK Athletics did not realise how good he was so largely ignored him.