by Steve Drumwright | US Para TF
Noelle Lambert was already a world-class Para sprinter when she got the idea to try something new.
Before the start of the 2024 track season, Lambert decided to train as a long jumper. If all went well, she reasoned, maybe she could make her second Paralympics this summer as both a sprinter and a jumper.
So far, that’s looking good
When she participated in the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in March, Lambert had only been training for the long jump for less than three months.
The 27-year-old from Manchester, New Hampshire, set an Americas record in the event’s T63 class with a jump of 4.75 meters — breaking the previous record by 0.65 meters.
Now imagine what she can do with a little more practice in a Paralympic year.
“I have a great coach, coach Kris Mack, out here in California,” Lambert said during nationals. “I knew if I was going to start long jumping, I needed to go to him because he’s the best. It’s been incredible to see my progress.”
Lambert went on to call coach Mack a “genius” for the way he’s been able to adapt her to the new event so quickly.
Lambert’s record-breaking jump would have been good enough for fourth place at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, just 0.27 meters away from the podium.
She is seeking a return to the Paralympics after finishing sixth in the 100-meter T63 in Tokyo. At nationals, Lindi Marcusen edged out Lambert in the 100 by three-hundredths of a second. While that would be a tough loss for some, the race pumped up Lambert.
“It was just really exciting to kind of get the competition aspect with her,” said Lambert, who still clocked a personal-best time of 15.25 seconds. “I PR’d and came home with silver. So that’s a good day in the office and I was separated by .03. That just makes it more exciting. It’s showing that the T63 women are growing and we’re ready for the competition.”
Lambert has embraced competition all her life. She grew up with three older brothers and wanted to beat them in everything.
“From a very early age, I was always competing with them, showing them who the boss in the family was, who the best athlete in the family was,” Lambert said. “I think I’ve taken that belt.”
That competitive drive helped her adapt after losing her left leg in a moped accident in 2016.
“I never went a day in my life without being active in some sort of way,” she said. “I’m the type of person that if I hit a roadblock, I typically just want to run right through it and to prove to people that it won’t slow me down and that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Lambert didn’t get back into her active lifestyle alone, though. Before her amputation, she played lacrosse at UMass Lowell. While Lambert was convinced her lacrosse career was over, she said her teammates and coaches were determined to get her back on the field.
Less than two years after losing her leg, Lambert became the first above-the-knee amputee to ever play Division I college lacrosse.
“I credit that solely to my teammates and coaches,” Lambert said. “Because if it was up to me, I would have quit day one. It just shows how special a whole community can be.”
Lambert has continued to make more history since then. In 2022, she was a contestant in season 43 of Survivor, making her the first above-the-knee amputee to appear on the show.
Lambert will continue her long jump training with her eyes set on the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Track & Field set for July 18-20 in Miramar, Florida, where she hopes to secure a spot in another Paralympics.
While Lambert had quick success in the long jump at nationals, Mack reminded her that she’s still very early into what could be a long journey.
“I wanted to jump 4.80, 4.90, and (Mack) was just like, ‘You’re still learning. You’re still very early (in this process),’” she said. “I’m a very impatient person. I want things done now, but you know, I’m trusting the process and really enjoying it as well.”