Gold medal glory could not have come much closer for Michael Roeger in the 1500m – T46 athletics event; but he is not discouraged by the result, instead setting his eyes on Los Angeles 2028.

The five-time Paralympic runner arrived in Paris aiming to get back on the podium – the last Paralympic medal he won was a bronze at Rio 2016.

For that, it was mission accomplished with Roeger bringing home silver with a time of 3:51.19.

The race played out in front of a roaring crowd at Stade de France where Roeger took hold of the lead early against France’s own Antione Praud before extending this lead by five meters, then 10 with just one lap to go.

This kind of pace was all too familiar for Roeger, who in 2017 set the world record in the event for arm amputees. But in the closing stages, the inevitable fatigue took its toll.

It was Neutral Paralympic Athlete (NPA) Aleksandr Iaremchuk who was able to capitalise on the final lap, with Praud also making a charge that sent crowd into raptures on the home stretch.

In the end it was just shy of a second separating Iaremchuk from Roeger, with Praud coming home third just 0.18 seconds behind the SASI athlete.

It was a valiant effort from the experienced runner, who still has his eyes set on that top step.

“The dream is still to stand on top of that podium … second is tough but I’m bloody proud how we’ve gone the last three years,” Roeger said.

“In the last 80-metres, I was just hurting so much and wanted that gold so much.

“I did all the work in the first three laps, so tried to set it up but I was going lactic.

“As much as I would have loved that gold medal and that was the dream, I’ve got to be happy. I left it all out there.”

Even at 36-years-old and with five Games to his name, Roeger insists that his dream of Paralympic gold is still not over. He wants to be on track in Los Angeles come 2028.

“I’m at my fifth Games and feel like I’m getting better. So as long as I’m competitive and as long as I’m enjoying it, I’ll keep going.”