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Paralympics

10 BREAKOUT PERFORMANCES BY TEAM USA ATHLETES IN SUMMER SPORTS IN 2023

December 22, 2023 by Tara S

BY CHRÖS MCDOUGALL | Team USA

New stars emerge every four years at the Olympics and Paralympics. If you were paying attention in 2023, though, you might have caught a preview of what’s to come next summer.

The year before the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 saw several breakout performances from Team USA athletes, results that included world championships, world records and drought-busting finishes.

Fans can follow along throughout the year at TeamUSA.com, but as we look ahead to the Olympic and Paralympic year in 2024, here are 10 athletes who showed in 2023 that they could be names to watch for in Paris:

Minna Stess, Skateboarding

Currently ranked 5th in the world, Minna Stess made history this year by placing third at the WST Park World Championship 2023 in Rome Ostia. In addition to securing crucial points for the Road to Paris 2024, Stess became the first U.S. woman ever to podium at an Olympic qualifier or Worlds event. At just 17 years old, she is considered the top U.S. female athlete in park skateboarding.

Sarah Adam of USA Wheelchair Rugby on the podium at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Mark Reis: Team USA

Sarah Adam, Wheelchair Rugby

Long a mixed-gender sport in name only, wheelchair rugby in the United States now has a female star. Adam broke through to become the first U.S. woman to compete at the world championships in 2022, and in 2023 she established herself as a go-to scorer on a team with Paralympic gold-medal aspirations. Adam, who when not playing is a professor of occupational therapy at St. Louis University, played key roles for Team USA in two major tournaments this year, including the Parapan American Games in November in Santiago, Chile. A victory there made Adam the first woman to win Parapan Ams gold in the sport and secured Team USA’s spot in Paris next year. Only Chuck Aoki, a three-time Paralympic medalist, scored more points than Adam.

Hannah Chadwick of US Para Cycling walks with her guide Skylar Espinoza at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Team USA

Hannah Chadwick guide Skyler Espinoza, Para-Cycling

Chadwick and her visual guide Espinoza didn’t plan to race the track sprint event at August’s world championships in Scotland. Yet in their first sprint race together, the new tandem won a bronze medal. Later, at the Parapan American Games, they opened with another unexpected win in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit. One day later they were back at their preferred 1,000-meter distance, and back atop the podium, this time in the time trial. The winning time also set a new Parapan Ams record for the event. In Paris, Chadwick, of El Cerrito, California, and Freeport, Maine, native Espinoza will aim to win Team USA’s first Paralympic medal in a visually impaired cycling event since 2008.

Cj. Nickolas smiling at the camera and holding up his gold medal

Mark Reis

CJ Nickolas, Taekwondo

The 21-year-old Nickolas put U.S. men’s taekwondo back on the map in May when he finished as runner-up in the men’s 80 kg. class at the world championships in Azerbaijan. Nickolas, of Brentwood, California, defeated the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the semifinals before falling to the division’s top-ranked athlete in the final. In doing so, he became the first U.S. man to win a world championships medal in the sport since 2009. After no U.S. men qualified for the Olympics in taekwondo in 2021 — the first time that had happened — Nickolas should be in position to not only qualify for Paris but maybe even contend for a medal.

noelle malkamaki

Noelle Malkamaki, Para Track & Field

Breaking a world record is so fun Malkamaki decided to do it three times this summer. The 22-year-old from Decatur, Illinois, first established a new global mark in the women’s shot put F46 at the U.S. championships in May. In July, she did it twice more at the world championships in Paris. Her final throw of 13.32 meters secured both the world title and her second world record of the day. Malkamaki, who throws collegiately for DePaul, only recently began throwing in Para competitions, and already she’s a favorite for a Paralympic medal next year in Paris.

Bronze medalist Frederick Richard of Team United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Men's All Around Final on Day Six of the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at Antwerp Sportpaleis on October 05, 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Getty Images

Fred Richard, Gymnastics

Richard arrived on the scene in 2022 eager to draw attention to his sport , both through TikTok and his performances. It’s safe to say he’s succeeded in both. In April, the 19-year-old wrapped up his freshman season at Michigan by winning the all-around and two event titles at the NCAA championships. Six months later, in Belgium, he broke through on a higher level. Richard left the world championships with a pair of bronze medals — in the team and the all-around. Those marked the first medals for U.S. men in those events at a global championship since 2014 and 2012, respectively. And Richard’s high-flying ways aren’t limited to his stunning floor exercise and high bar routines. His creative gymnastics challenge videos have earned him a following of 645,000 and counting on TikTok.

(L-R0 Valarie Allman and Laulauga Tausaga-Collins pose with their U.S. flags.

Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, Track & Field

Talk about owning the moment. Tausaga-Collins unleashed the biggest throw of her life — by far — to become the first U.S. woman to win a discus world title. The Hawaii-born, California-raised thrower missed the Tokyo Olympics and finished 12th of 12 in the final of last year’s world championships, both while battling back injuries. At this year’s worlds in August in Hungary, Tausaga-Collins sat in fifth place with two throws to go. That’s when she broke out for a 69.49-meter throw, beating her personal best by nearly four meters. Her U.S. teammate and the defending Olympic champ, Valarie Allman, was just behind Tausaga-Collins in second (69.23 m).

Sam Watson celebrating and putting his arms up in the air

Joe Kusumoto

Sam Watson, Climbing

Speed climbing will debut as an Olympic medal event in Paris after being rolled into a combined event in 2021 in Tokyo. That’s good news for Watson, who at 17 is already one of the fastest in the history of the sport. In April, Watson, of Southlake, Texas, scaled the 15-meter wall in 5.02 seconds to establish a new U.S. record. The only thing missing for Watson was a climb like that when it counts most, in a final. He finally put everything together at the Pan American Games in October in Santiago, where he not only won the gold medal but also clinched his first Olympic berth.

Joscelyn Roberson of Team United States competes on Floor Exercise during Women's Qualifications on Day Two of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Antwerp Sportpaleis on October 01, 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Getty Images

Joscelyn Roberson, Gymnastics

The world championships didn’t end quite how Roberson had hoped — a “freak injury” in warmups kept her out of the team and vault finals. But just about everything prior in 2023 was a dream for the 17-year-old from Texarkana, Texas. Following a switch to Simone Biles’ gym last year, Roberson enjoyed a breakthrough winter racking up medals at competitions in Germany, Egypt and Colombia. The powerful tumbler is particularly strong on floor and vault, the latter of which she won at the U.S. championships. In only in her second year at the senior elite level, Roberson showed she can hang with the best in the world.

Jeromie Meyer throws the ball during the Men's Wheelchair Basketball final at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Joe Kusumoto Team USA

Jeromie Meyer, Wheelchair Basketball

Make no mistake, the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team is still a veteran-led group. If the team is to win a third consecutive Paralympic gold medal next year, though, it’ll need key contributions from players like Meyer, of Woodbine, Iowa, who proved to be a key contributor off the bench this year. Meyer closed out his first senior tournament with Team USA by dropping in five points in a 67–66 win over Great Britain to secure the world title in June in Dubai, UAE. He was the only bench player to record a point. Meyer was at it again at the Parapan Am Games, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds in the final as Team USA thumped Colombia to secure the gold medal and a spot in the Paris Games.

Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Filed Under: Athlete Spotlight, Climbing, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Olympics, Para-Cycling, Paralympics, Rugby, Skateboarding, Track and Field

Carey, Frech, Middleton Earn Top Honors as 2023 High School All-Americans Named

December 18, 2023 by Tara S

BY KRISTEN GOWDY | usparatf

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Forty high school athletes have been named to the prestigious 2023 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-American list, the organization announced today. The list recognizes the top high school track and field athletes who have a Paralympic-eligible impairment based on their performances in the 2023 season. This is the 13th group of athletes to have been awarded the honor.

Headlining the 2023 roster are Annie Carey (Boise, Idaho), Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California) and Arelle Middleton (Rancho Cucamonga, California), who were named U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Athletes of the Year. The selection criteria looked at the top athlete performances in each event in 2023 as compared against the “A” standard for the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team. Athletes who competed in high school track and field during the 2022-2023 school year were eligible.

“This was an unprecedented year in terms of success for our younger athletes,” Sherrice Fox, Director, U.S. Paralympics Track & Field, said. “On this list, we have athletes who medaled at world championships and the Parapan American Games, as well as athletes who are brand new to us, which is so exciting and speaks to the future of our sport as we build toward Paris 2024 next year and beyond.”

Earning his third consecutive athlete of the year honors is Frech, whose stellar showing in both track and field events this year cemented the top spot on both the men’s track and men’s field ranking lists. Frech has twice previously been named Male Field Athlete of the Year, and it’s the senior’s first career Male Track Athlete of the Year nod.

Frech’s world record in the men’s high jump T63 at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships set the tone for a momentous season for the 18-year-old and earned him the title of Male Field Athlete of the Year. It was the 2020 Paralympian’s first career world championship title, and he followed that with a strong 100-meter mark that put him at the top of the high school rankings on the track side.

Carey, meanwhile, nabbed three bronze medals at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, as part of her campaign for Female Track Athlete of the Year. A freshman this season at Mount St. Mary’s University, Carey’s qualifying marks ­– in the 100-meter, 200-meter and long jump – were earned while she was in high school during the 2022-2023 season. It is Carey’s second consecutive high school athlete of the year honors.

A newcomer to Para track and field, Middleton’s top mark of 12.02 meters in the women’s shot put at her high school state championships propelled the 15-year-old to her first career Female Field Athlete of the Year award. The mark would have won her the world championship gold medal in 2023.

The full list of this year’s High School All-Americans, in alphabetical order with qualifying events, can be found below.

For media requests and inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.

2023 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-Americans

Michael Allen (100-meter)

Andy Botkin (100-meter, 400-meter)

Aidan Cairns (400-meter)

Micah Campbell (100-meter, 400-meter)

Annie Carey (100-meter, 200-meter, Long Jump)

Chloe Chavez (100-meter, 200-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)

Joshua Fields (100-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)

Lauren Fields (100-meter, 800-meter)

Jeffrey Files (100-meter, 400-meter)

Skyler Fisher (800-meter)

Elizabeth Floch (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter)

Carson Fox (100-meter)

Ezra Frech (100-meter, Long Jump, High Jump)

Alaina Gott (100-meter)

Tyler Gunnarson (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter, 5000-meter)

Madison Hahs (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)

Samuel Haynes (100-meter, 400-meter)

Samantha Heyison (Shot Put, Discus)

Isabelle Hogness (100-meter, 400-meter)

Jian Jackson (100-meter, 400-meter)

Danielle Kanas (Shot Put)

Tayvion Lilly (100-meter, 200-meter)

Emily Lopez (200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)

Delmace Mayo (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter)

Tucker McCrady (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter)

Elicia Meairs (100-meter, 800-meter, Javelin)

Arelle Middleton (Shot Put, Discus)

Grant Pierce (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter)

Gianni Quintero (100-meter, 400-meter)

Christian Ramirez (100-meter)

David Ramos (100-meter, 400-meter)

Matthew Reid (100-meter, 400-meter)

Janie Richardson (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)

Jillian Romanyk (Shot Put)

Lily Rosenthal (100-meter, Long Jump)

Najee Smothers (100-meter)

Austin Spalla (100-meter, 200-meter)

Kira Stevens (100-meter, 200-meter)

Kaidhyn Stockdale (Discus)

Carlo Uglow (100-meter)

Elizabeth Wade (1500-meter)

Sam Winter (100-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)

Filed Under: Paralympics, Youth Sports

McFadden, Pike, Scaroni, Romanchuk become first athletes named to Team USA for Paralympic Games Paris 2024

November 8, 2023 by Tara S

Highland County Press | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Press Release

Four of Team USA’s top marathoners became the first athletes selected by name to the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 roster for the U.S. after earning their spots via results from the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. The iconic marathon served as the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field marathon team selection event for Paris 2024.

Paralympians Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Md.) and Susannah Scaroni (Tekoa, Wash.) won the silver and bronze, respectively, to qualify in the top overall spot for Team USA, while six-time Paralympian Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minn.) placed fourth and was the second American male finisher in the field behind Romanchuk. Rounding out the women’s marathon squad will be 20-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden (Baltimore, Md.), who earns the second women’s spot with a sixth-place finish.

Per the team’s selection procedures, the top two American men and top two American women finishers are named to the Paralympic Team, provided that they rank within the top-20 of the World Para Athletics World Rankings in the T54 marathon event.

“As a program, it’s extremely exciting to have our first athletes named to the Paris team, and especially to see these four leading the charge for Team USA as we approach the Games next summer,” Sherrice Fox, Director, U.S. Paralympics Track & Field, said. “All four of them have been constants on our Paralympic teams over the past decade and beyond, and we are looking forward to watching them continue that legacy in Paris.”

One of the most prolific wheelchair marathoners in recent years, Romanchuk is set for his third Paralympic Games after a breakout Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in which he won the men’s 400-meter T54 race and also claimed bronze in the marathon. The 25-year-old is the youngest-ever winner of the New York Marathon’s wheelchair event, in which he claimed victory in 2018. In his marathon career, which began in 2014, he also has won the London, Chicago and Boston Marathons.

The silver medal finish came behind only Switzerland’s Marcel Hug. Romanchuk finished the race in 1:30.07 to punch his ticket to Paris.  

“I’m so thankful for these opportunities I’ve had,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to have a little more of a solid plan for the next year. It’s really great to finish on a note like this for the season. I’m hoping to get some solid training in and make some equipment adjustments this winter and look toward the next year.”

Joining Romanchuk in Paris will be the two-time Paralympic medalist Scaroni, who, since winning her first Paralympic title in Tokyo, has been on a tear, piling up the most marathon wins of any Team USA athlete in women’s wheelchair racing.

After a training accident in which the three-time Paralympian was hit by a car in late 2021, she bounced back to win the 2022 Chicago and New York City Marathons and earned her first career Boston Marathon title in 2023. She is also dominant in the 5-kilometer race, the event in which she won her Paralympic gold in Tokyo.

Scaroni held the second-place position for the majority of the New York City Marathon, trailing only Swiss athlete Catherine Debrunner. She was passed only in the last miles of the race by Manuela Schar, who claimed silver. Scaroni snagged a podium spot with bronze in 1:48.14.

Being one of the first four athletes to qualify for Team USA for Paris 2024 was an honor, Scaroni said.

“It’s never easy to make the Paralympic Team, so it’s such a privilege,” she said. “The Paralympic movement, especially in this country, I feel the energy, I feel recognized, and it’s largely because of how well we’ve done showcasing Para athletes. It makes me excited for the next generation of Paralympians.”

One of the greatest wheelchair racers the sport has ever seen, the 20-time Paralympic medalist McFadden has officially qualified for her seventh career Paralympic Games roster after placing sixth in the marathon with a time of 1:53.31. The result earns her the opportunity to compete alongside Scaroni for Team USA in the women’s marathon in Paris.

For the 23-time world championships medalist who also has 24 World Major Marathon titles, qualifying for Paris was her primary objective for the race.

“I’m so excited,” McFadden said. “To be on the 2024 Paris Paralympic marathon team was really the big goal for today’s race. I’ve had a really great season. To come home with three world championship events in sprinting events and then make the marathon team is a really great package to bring home this year. Hopefully I can put everything together next year and bring home some medals in Paris.”

Rounding out the first four athletes named to Team USA for the 2024 Paralympic Games is Pike, who is also earning his seventh Paralympic berth. A dual-sport athlete who also competes in Para Nordic skiing, Pike has now finished in the top-five in his past four New York Marathon competitions after a fourth-place finish in the men’s race.

In Tokyo, Pike finished sixth in the marathon, and earlier this year earned his first career world championships title in biathlon.

“It’s something you never take for granted,” Pike said. “It’s crazy to say it’s your seventh Games. I’m happy that the training is still inspiring. I’m pumped. It’s just really relieving to know that it’s done already and we can just focus on training.”

Pike has a quick turnaround before getting on snow to start his Para Nordic skiing season. He plans to head to Canmore, Canada, to join the national team in just a few days.

“As soon as I get on snow, it’s actually reenergizing for me,” he said. “I like having two sports, and I’m actually really excited to go jump on snow in a couple of days. Everyone thinks it’s crazy, but for me it’s refreshing. I always feel the same way in March when I get back in the chair. It just works for me.”

Other U.S. highlights in the competition included up-and-coming athlete Evan Correll (Waukee, Iowa), who placed sixth in the men’s event. Correll is set to make his international debut for Team USA later this month at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Paralympian Jenna Fesemyer (Ravenna, Ohio) was eighth in the women’s race, followed by Michelle Wheeler (Boalsburg, Pa.), Yen Hoang (Vancouver, Wash.) and Hannah Dederick (Mead, Wash.), who finished 11th, 13th and 14th, respectively.

Coming off his first two career world championships medals on the track, three-time Paralympian Brian Siemann (Champaign, Ill.) recorded a strong ninth-place finish for the men, and Herman Garic (Utica, N.Y.), Wyatt Willand (Northwood, Iowa) and Philip Croft (Spokane, Wash.) were 11th, 12th and 13th.

The remaining U.S. Paralympics Track & Field roster slots for the Paralympic Games will be filled at this summer’s U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Team Trials, set for July 18-21. The Paralympic Games Paris 2024 run Aug. 28-Sept. 8 and are expected to feature more than 4,400 athletes.

Filed Under: Paralympics

Noelle Malkamaki Has Fully Embraced Being A Para Collegiate Athlete

August 22, 2023 by Tara S

LELA MOORE | USA Paralympics Track and Field

When Noelle Malkamaki broke the world record in the women’s shot put F46 for the first time, she didn’t even realize it.

It was earlier this summer, while competing at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in Chula Vista, California. Malkamaki said she wasn’t having her best meet and ended up not feeling the thrill she thought she would.

The circumstances were different when she broke her own world record two months later. In fact, Malkamaki set a new record three separate times during last month’s World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, with the official record of 13.32 meters coming on her final throw. That was more than enough to secure the gold medal in Malkamaki’s world championships debut.

“The energy was better, and I enjoyed the performance personally,” Malkamaki, 22, said.

Her journey to the world record has been a short and fast one, although, she said, it did not seem like it would ever begin at the outset.

The Decatur, Illinois, native, whose right hand never developed due to amniotic band syndrome, began throwing in middle school and earned a scholarship to DePaul University in Chicago. Two years into her NCAA career, her coach brought up the Paralympics.

With no concept of how many classifications existed in Paralympic competition and what qualification entailed, Malkamaki was hesitant.

“I was a complete outsider,” she said. “It wasn’t even like I was looking in from the outside; I just didn’t have the information.”

Malkamaki initially worried, she said, that she was not “disabled enough.”

“Those were the words that I used because I didn’t have any idea or understanding of how everything worked,” she said.

There were many steps to the process of getting classified, and many times when she wondered if she was going about everything correctly.

She eventually received her national classification, followed by her international classification. And finally, she said, “the ball really started moving.”

For a while, Malkamaki felt like she was living in two different worlds. She was a Division I athlete, attending meets against able-bodied athletes one day, then she’d be competing as a Para athlete the next.   

After a year of pursuing Para competition, Malkamaki said, “it’s weird living in these two spheres, but the more I think about it, I’m realizing that there are ways that these two things can be the same.”

Malkamaki had a successful senior season at DePaul, where she throws discus and hammer in addition to the shot put. She took fourth place in the shot put at the Big East outdoor championships.

With one year of eligibility left at DePaul (granted because of the COVID-19 pandemic), Malkamaki has started to feel more comfortable competing in college and on the Para international stage.

“I don’t have to be two different athletes,” she said. “I’m one athlete that takes up space in both, and that’s OK.”

Her experience in Paris helped Malkamaki become more accepting of that, as she was able to interact with other athletes who have similar experiences. She quickly discovered she was not the only one struggling mentally with the dichotomy.

“Among the other athletes on the U.S. Para team who are also in college sports, we’re all able to talk to one another and make each other feel secure,” she said. “We can all tackle this together and work through some of these confusing feelings together.”

One of Malkamaki’s closest friends on the national team is Liza Corso, who won a silver medal in the women’s 1500-meter T13 in Paris. The visually impaired distance runner will be entering her junior year this fall at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

“She was the first person I talked to about, ‘Hey, am I normal for feeling this way?’” Malkamaki said of Corso.

The two women supported each other throughout training and watched each other compete in Paris.

Malkamaki is grateful that she will have the support at DePaul as she competes through her fifth season while also training with an eye on next summer’s Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

“I really have a lot of trust in my college program right now,” she said.

Malkamaki will add in more plyometric exercises into her strength-training regime, she said, with the hopes of making her both stronger but also more explosive.

“I want to leave the college system with a bang because I’m really grateful for the time that I’ve had here,” she said.

Malkamaki knows that once she leaves college, her training will become much more single-minded. Ultimately, she hopes to break her own world record again, perhaps at the Paralympics. She has not taken a break since she began Para competitions, and she doesn’t plan to before Paris.

“Why mess with something that isn’t broken?” she said.

Filed Under: Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics, Track and Field

Paralympic Gold Medalist Morgan Stickney Persevered to Graduate College

August 9, 2023 by Tara S

Charlotte McKinley | Biola University

LA MIRADA, CALIF. — After seven years, countless surgeries and perseverance through suffering, Tokyo 2021 Paralympian Morgan Stickney will graduate from Biola University on May 5, 2023.

Stickney started college in 2016 ranked as a top-20 American freestyle swimmer and swam on Biola’s swim team as a freshman in 2016. Soon after, pain from a previously broken sesamoid bone in her left big toe quickly worsened leaving her unable to compete or swim. In 2017, she developed a staph infection in her foot and the then-20-year-old made the difficult decision to amputate her foot.

Just weeks after her surgery, Stickney was in the pool again. However, similar pain started in her right foot due to a mysterious cardiovascular condition that blocked blood flow to her lower legs. Stickney had to amputate her right foot and became a bilateral amputee.

Stickney kept training and won two Paralympic gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relay for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Recently, she set a new American record in the women’s S7 400 freestyle at the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series in Minneapolis. Throughout her training and suffering through surgeries and recovery, she continued to work on her college degree.

“Morgan’s courage, perseverance and deep faith in God have helped her persevere, and we are honored to present her with her hard-earned degree,” said Dr. Barry H. Corey, President of Biola.

Stickney will graduate with a B.S. in Applied Psychology on May 5, 2023 at 7 p.m.

CEO of the YouVersion Bible App, Bobby Gruenewald, is the commencement speaker for both of Biola’s Spring Commencement ceremonies. Gruenewald serves on the Leadership Team at Life.Church as the Pastor, Innovation Leader and Founder.

For those unable to attend in person, a live stream of the ceremonies will be available on the Biola website, and on Biola’s Facebook.

For more information or press passes, please contact Sarah Dougher, media relations coordinator, at sarah.m.dougher@biola.edu.

FOR MEDIA: Upon arrival to campus, please call (949) 521-1829.

Biola University

13800 Biola Ave.

La Mirada, CA 90639

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics, Swimming, Women's Sports Tagged With: Morgan Stickney

2023 PARA WORLDS DAY 2: USA’S MORGAN STICKNEY SMASHES WORLD RECORD IN WOMEN’S S7 400 FR

August 9, 2023 by Tara S

James Sutherland | Swim Swam

Five world records fell during the second day of competition at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester, including Morgan Stickney obliterating one mark to give the United States its first gold medal of the competition.

Stickney, 26, put up a time of 4:54.28 to win gold in the women’s 400 free S7, knocking nearly five seconds off the previous world record in the process.

Stickney’s time broke the previous mark of 4:59.02 set by Australian Jacqueline Freney in 2012, and she also broke her own American Record of 5:03.16 set earlier this year in Minneapolis.

Three of Tuesday’s world records came in the 100 freestyle, with two male and one female marks going down.

In the men’s 100 free S4, Israel’s Ami Omer Dadaon clocked 1:18.94 to erase the record of 1:19.26 he set earlier this year at the Para Swimming World Cup in Berlin.

In the S6 category of the men’s 100 free, Italian Antonio Fantin also broke his own world record, bringing his 1:03.65 mark from last year’s Worlds down to 1:02.98 to successfully defend his title.

On the women’s side, China’s Jiang Yuyan brought the 100 free S6 record sub-1:11 for the first time, as she put up a time of 1:10.86 to knock off the previous mark she shared with Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Mereshko (1:11.07), with the two swimmers having tied for bronze (in the S7 category) in the event at the 2021 Paralympics.

The lone non-freestyle world record broken on the day came in the men’s 100 fly S11, where Ukraine’s Danylo Chufarov logged a time of 1:00.66 to lower the 15-year-old mark of 1:01.12 set by Spain’s Enhamed Enhamed in 2008.

With six gold and eight total medals after the opening day, Italy led the medal table early on, and they extended that on Tuesday, now sitting atop the heap with nine gold and 15 total medals.

Leading things off for Italy on the day was Federico Bicelli, who won the men’s 400 free S7 in a time of 4:40.55 to top Argentine Inaki Basiloff (4:40.96).

Following Bicelli’s lead for the Italians was Fantin, who claimed the men’s 100 free S6, and they also had a victory from Stefano Raimondi, who topped the men’s 200 IM SM10 in 2:10.41. Raimond’s win marked a successful title defense, having won the event last year in Portugal, and he also won silver in Tokyo.

China had a strong showing on the day, moving up to second on the medal table after winning four golds and seven total medals on Tuesday to bring their cumulative tally up to 7/17.

In addition to Jiang’s win in the women’s 100 free S6, China also had Lu Dong set a new Championship Record in the women’s 50 back S5 (38.21), and Yuan Weiyi topped the men’s 50 back S5 in a time of 32.73, leading a 1-2-3 sweep.

The Chinese team then capped the night off by winning the mixed 4×50 free relay 20pts in 2:18.58, setting a new Championship Record.

Great Britain also had a strong day, including a podium sweep in the women’s 100 back S14 as they rank third on the medal table, tied with China with seven golds while trailing by one in terms of overall medal count.

Read more: 2023 PARA WORLDS DAY 2: USA’S MORGAN STICKNEY SMASHES WORLD RECORD IN WOMEN’S S7 400 FR

MEDAL TABLE THROUGH DAY 2

RANKNATIONGOLDSILVERBRONZETOTAL
1Italy92415
2China76417
3Great Britain74516
4Australia43310
5Canada4026
6Brazil34512
7Ukraine3339
8Germany3216
9Netherlands2305
10Hungary2002
11Spain15410
12United States1348
13Mexico1203
14Israel1012
15Greece1001
Republic of Korea1001
17Japan0336
18France0224
19Argentina0134
20Azerbaijan0112
New Zealand0112
22Colombia0101
Croatia0101
Ireland0101
Kazakhstan0101
South Africa0101
27Cyprus0011
Denmark0011
Switzerland0011
Turkiye0011

ALL DAY 2 MEDALISTS

Men’s 400 Freestyle S7

  • Gold: Federico Bicelli (ITA) – 4:40.55
  • Silver: Inaki Basiloff (ARG) – 4:40.96
  • Bronze: Andrii Trusov (UKR) – 4:41.57

Women’s 400 Freestyle S7

  • Gold: Morgan Stickney (USA) – 4:54.28 WR
  • Silver: Ahalya Lettenberger (USA) – 5:22.27
  • Bronze: Sabrina Duchesne (CAN) – 5:31.17

Men’s 100 Freestyle S4

  • Gold: Ami Omer Dadaon (ISR) – 1:18.94 WR
  • Silver: Cameron Leslie (NL) – 1:22.56
  • Bronze: Takayuki Suzuki (JPN) – 1:22.91

Women’s 100 Freestyle S4

  • Gold: Tanja Scholz (GER) – 1:22.18
  • Silver: Lidia Vieira Da Cruz (BRA) – 1:29.43
  • Bronze: Gina Boettcher (GER) – 1:30.31

Men’s 50 Backstroke S5

  • Gold: Yuan Weiyi (CHN) – 32.73
  • Silver: Wang Lichao (CHN) – 32.92
  • Bronze: Guo Jincheng (CHN) – 33.71

Women’s 50 Backtroke S5

  • Gold: Lu Dong (CHN) – 38.21
  • Silver: He Shenggao (CHN) – 41.44
  • Bronze: Sumeyye Boyaci (TUR) – 43.32

Men’s 150 IM SM3

  • Gold: Ahmed Kelly (AUS) – 2:58.59
  • Silver: Marcos Rafael Zarate Rodriguez (MEX) – 3:19.28
  • Bronze: Emmanuele Marigliano (ITA) – 3:29.03

Women’s 150 IM SM3

  • Gold: Tanja Scholz (GER) – 2:53.18 CR
  • Silver: Marta Fernandez Infante (ESP) – 3:03.87
  • Bronze: Ellie Challis (GBR) – 3:13.13

Men’s 100 Freestyle S6

  • Gold: Antonio Fantin (ITA) – 1:02.98 WR
  • Silver: Talisson Henrique Glock (BRA) – 1:04.73
  • Bronze: Daniel Xavier Mendes (BRA) – 1:05.14

Women’s 100 Freestyle S6

  • Gold: Jiang Yuyan (CHN) – 1:10.86 WR
  • Silver: Anna Hontar (UKR) – 1:13.48
  • Bronze: Nora Meister (SUI) – 1:14.45

Men’s 200 IM SM10

  • Gold: Stefano Raimondi (ITA) – 2:10.41
  • Silver: Col Pearse (AUS) – 2:13.68
  • Bronze: Alexy Saffy (AUS) – 2:16.07

Women’s 200 IM SM10

  • Gold: Bianka Pap (HUN) – 2:28.58
  • Silver: Lisa Kruger (NED) – 2:30.15
  • Bronze: Faye Rogers (GBR) – 2:31.50

Men’s 100 Back S8

  • Gold: Inigo Llopis Sanz (ESP) – 1:05.32
  • Silver: Kota Kubota (JPN) – 1:06.40
  • Bronze: Sam Downie (GBR) – 1:08.36

Women’s 100 Back S8

  • Gold: Alice Tai (GBR) – 1:12.11
  • Silver: Xenia Francesca Palazzo (ITA) – 1:19.40
  • Bronze: Tupou Neiufi (NZL) – 1:20.35

Men’s 100 Fly S11

  • Gold: Keiichi Kimura (JPN)  – 1:03.66
  • Silver: Uchu Tomita (JPN) – 1:04.28
  • Bronze: Mykhailo Serbin (UKR) – 1:07.29

Men’s 100 Fly S12

  • Gold: Douglas Matera (BRA) – 58.28
  • Silver: Stephen Clegg (GBR) – 58.41
  • Bronze: Raman Salei (AZE) – 58.73

Women’s 100 Fly S12

  • Gold: Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (BRA) – 1:05.68
  • Silver: Maria Delgado Nadal (ESP) – 1:06.87
  • Bronze: Alessia Berra (ITA) – 1:06.98

Men’s 100 Back S14

  • Gold: Benjamin Hance (AUS) – 57.26 CR
  • Silver: Gabriel Bandeira (BRA) – 59.05
  • Bronze: Alexander Hillhouse (DEN) – 59.86

Women’s 100 Back S14

  • Gold: Bethany Firth (GBR) – 1:05.80 CR
  • Silver: Poppy Maskill (GBR) – 1:05.87
  • Bronze: Georgia Sheffield (GBR) – 1:08.61

Men’s 100 Breast SB13

  • Gold: Taliso Engel (GER) – 1:03.26 CR
  • Silver: Nurdaulet Zhumagali (KAZ) – 1:05.16
  • Bronze: David Henry Abrahams (USA) – 1:05.55

Women’s 100 Breast SB13

  • Gold: Rebecca Redfern (GBR) – 1:15.01
  • Silver: Colleen Young (USA) – 1:15.89
  • Bronze: Olivia Chambers (USA) – 1:18.45

Men’s 200 IM SM9

  • Gold: Timothy Hodge (AUS) – 2:12.74 CR
  • Silver: Ugo Didier (FRA) – 2:17.15
  • Bronze: Federico Morlacchi (ITA) – 2:21.26

Women’s 200 IM SM9

  • Gold: Zsofia Konkoly (HUN) – 2:35.91
  • Silver: Nuria Marques Soto (ESP) – 2:36.67
  • Bronze: Sarai Gascon (ESP) – 2:37.13

Mixed 4×50 Free Relay 20pts

  • Gold: China – 2:18.58 CR
  • Silver: Brazil – 2:23.65
  • Bronze: Ukraine – 2:25.93

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics, Swimming, Women's Sports Tagged With: Morgan Stickney

Stickney’s second world title caps four-medal final night for Team USA in Manchester

August 9, 2023 by Tara S

KRISTEN GOWDY | USA Paralympic Swimming

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM – Team USA brought home four more medals, including a second title of the meet from Morgan Stickney (Cary, North Carolina), as the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships concluded with a seventh day of competition at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

World championships rookie Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) added a silver medal, while

Paralympians McClain Hermes (Dacula, Georgia) and Elizabeth Marks (Colorado Springs, Colorado) each brought home bronze to bring Team USA’s total on the meet to 25.

The Americans wrapped competition finishing 8th in the overall medal count. Chambers led the charge with six medals, while Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California) earned five. Stickney and Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland) won two gold medals apiece to lead Team USA.

Already a world champion in the 400-meter freestyle S7, Stickney sprinted to her second world title of the meet in the 100-meter freestyle S7 in convincing fashion. Her time of 1:09.29 was nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I don’t get to sprint very often, so it’s always fun to get to do that. These are some amazing competitors I get to go against, and it was a really fun race.”

Stickney’s win is her fourth career world championships gold medal. The two-time Paralympic champion will look to qualify for her second Paralympic Games next summer.

“It’s so fun to be here and so fun to be a part of Team USA,” she said. “I’m so excited to see what training looks like and what the next year has to bring.”

Teammate Julia Gaffney (Mayflower, Arkansas) earned a spot in the 100-meter freestyle S7 finals alongside Stickney, but elected not to compete in the evening session. Her preliminary time of 1:15.97 would have ranked her sixth in the finals. Gaffney has had a busy meet, earning three medals in five events.

The two-time Paralympian Hermes swam to her first world championships medal since 2017, securing bronze in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S11 with a time of 5:18.66.

For Hermes, the medal was redemption after a fourth-place finish in the event at the 2022 world championships.

“I had a really good prelim swim today, and knew I had to keep it together for the finals,” Hermes said. “I did something similar last year where I swam really fast in the morning and then fell apart at night, so I knew that I needed to go out strong and hold onto it. I’m really happy to go another personal best time tonight and to get a medal.”

Hermes attributed her medal in part to her recent shift to training as a dual-sport athlete in both swimming and paratriathlon. She recently graduated from Loyola University Maryland and has transitioned to living at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“My training has really changed,” she said. “I learned how to ride a bike and run in the last year, and that has really benefitted my training. I’m swimming less, but I’m doing so much more cardio and cross-training that it’s really impacting my swimming for the better. It’s really great to be competing in two sports right now and seeing growth in both.”

The medal is Hermes’ sixth career world championships podium.

Chambers, meanwhile, completed a perfect six-for-six podium performances in her world championships debut, taking her second consecutive silver medal in the women’s 200-meter individual medley SM13. Chambers wrapped her meet with a time of 2:28.23, putting herself comfortably in the silver medal position.

The 20-year-old will return home with four bronze medals to accompany her two silvers in what has been a dominant and well-rounded first world championships. She won medals in three freestyle events, plus butterfly and breaststroke, then put it all together for her individual medley medal tonight.

She will seek her first Paralympic Games berth next summer.

Teammate and Paralympic medalist Colleen Young (St. Louis, Missouri) returned to the pool for her final race of the meet and placed fifth behind Chambers. Young won silver in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke SB13 earlier in the week, adding her 12th career world championships medal.

The five-time Paralympic medalist Marks swam to her second bronze medal of the meet, snagging a podium finish in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S6 competition. Marks’ time of 36.80 was just .3 seconds off the silver medal pace, and just over two seconds behind the world record and gold medal-winning time set by Yuyan Jiang of China.

Marks also earned bronze in the 200-meter individual medley SM6 earlier in the week. She adds her fourth and fifth world championships medals to her resumé in Manchester as she tries for her third Paralympic Games next summer.

Paralympic silver medalist David Abrahams (Havertown, Pennsylvania), already a Manchester medalist in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke SB13, just missed his second medal of the week in the men’s 200-meter individual medley SM13. Abrahams put together a strong second half of the medley in the breaststroke and freestyle legs and was just out-touched at the wall, finishing .29 seconds off the bronze medal pace. Abrahams is set to return to Harvard University for his senior season on the men’s swimming team.

After winning a bronze medal in last night’s 200-meter freestyle, Paralympic silver medalist Leanne Smith (Salem, Massachusetts) finished her meet with a fifth-place result in the women’s 100-meter freestyle S3. She swam to a time of 2:05.61 in her sixth race of the week.

Team USA’s mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay finals team, comprised of Stickney, Jaffe, Jamal Hill (Inglewood, California) and Audrey Kim (Salt Lake City, Utah) combined for a fifth-place finish in the mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay 34 pts. to cap the meet for the Americans. Team USA swam to a time of 4:12.75.

The prelims relay team of Jaffe, Hill, Lizzi Smith (Muncie, Indiana) and Long finished second in their heat to qualify Team USA’s finals team into the evening session.

Hill also earned a fourth-place finish in the men’s 50-meter freestyle S9 just before competing in the relay finals. The Paralympic bronze medalist missed the podium by just .16 seconds in one of the closest Team USA finishes in Manchester. He and Stickney both raced both individual and relay races on the day.

Lizzi Smith, who swam in the prelim relay and qualified for the women’s 50-meter freestyle S9 final in the morning session, took a sixth-place finish in the event final. The three-time Paralympic medalist’s top finish of the week was fourth in the women’s 100-meter butterfly S9.

Paralympian Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland) earned a seventh-place finish in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S14 competition, his signature event and only race of the meet. Sapp swam nearly identical times between his prelim and his final, finishing in 58.10 and 58.09, respectively.

Rounding out Team USA’s results was Paralympic champion Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, North Carolina), who wrapped her meet with a sixth-place finish in her heat of the women’s 50-meter freestyle S9.

With 2023 Para Swimming World Championships competition concluded, Team USA turns to its next major meet: the 2023 ParaPan American Games in Santiago, Chile, this November. Follow U.S. Paralympics Swimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates on the team.

For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.

Team USA Medals – August 5

GOLD
Morgan Stickney – women’s 100-meter freestyle S7

SILVER
Olivia Chambers – women’s 200-meter individual medley SM13

BRONZE
McClain Hermes – women’s 400-meter freestyle S11
Elizabeth Marks – women’s 50-meter butterfly S6

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics, Swimming Tagged With: Morgan Stickney

Oksana Masters breaks U.S. record for most Winter Paralympic Medals

March 17, 2022 by Tara S

by: Olympic Talk

Oksana Masters broke the U.S. records for career Winter Paralympic medals and for most medals at a single Winter Games by making the podium in all seven of her events in China.

Masters, 32, finished her slate with gold in the mixed-gender cross-country skiing relay on Sunday, the ninth and final day of competition. Masters led off the U.S. quartet and was followed by Sydney Peterson, Dan Cnossen and Jake Adicoff.

She finished with one gold and three silvers in cross-country skiing and two golds and one silver in biathlon. That upped her career Winter Paralympic medal tally to 14, one more than Alpine skiers Sarah Billmeier and Sarah Will, who competed from 1992-2002.

Masters owns 17 medals among four sports between the Summer and Winter Games when including her rowing bronze from 2012 and two cycling golds last summer.

The U.S. Paralympians with the most medals come from the Summer Games, led by swimmers Trischa Zorn (46 medals) and Jessica Long (29).

The overall Winter Games medal record is held by Norwegian Ragnhild Myklebust, who won 27 medals, including 22 golds, in biathlon, cross-country skiing and ice sledge speed racing, which is no longer on the Paralympic program.

Filed Under: Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics

KENDALL GRETSCH, OKSANA MASTERS WIN GOLD, SILVER FOR BACK-TO-BACK PARA BIATHLON PODIUM FINISHES

March 17, 2022 by Tara S

Kendall Gretsch

By Katie Grunik | TEam usa

ZHANGJIAKOU, China –  Kendall Gretsch became a Paralympic champion again after finishing 1-2 with teammate Oksana Masters in Para biathlon women’s middle-distance sitting on Tuesday at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Center.  

Kendall Gretsch won gold after finishing in 33:12.3. She entered the race as the current world champion and improved on her fourth-place finish from the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.  

“I’m really excited with today’s race,” Gretsch said. “I had a good day on skis, and I’m happy with our performance. Hopefully, we can build on that for the rest of the races too.” 

U.S. teammate Oksana Masters won silver in 33:21.0, and Germany’s Anja Wicker took bronze in 35:45.3. Team USA’s Lera Doederlein finished ninth.  

“It’s going to be an incredible podium,” Masters said. “I’ve got my teammate Kendall on top and an incredible athlete, Anja Wicker. She’s been my influence in biathlon. … She’s who I embody, she’s the queen of biathlon. I’m so happy to share this with Team USA and Germany on the podium.”  
 
On a sunny day with the most favorable racing conditions of the Games so far, Gretsch took control of the 2.5-kilometer race around the halfway point. The now four-time Paralympic gold medalist made up time in the race thanks to her quick and accurate shooting. She only missed one shot out of the four shooting passes.  

“I really wanted to shoot or hit as many as I could because the races have been tight so every shot counts,” Gretsch said.  

Shooting proved to be a key element of the race for both Team USA athletes on the podium. Masters, who also won her second-straight biathlon medal at the Beijing Winter Paralympics, shot clean across all four shooting passes.  

“I know my teammate, Kendall Gretsch, is an incredible shooter. She’s a fast shooter, and in the past, I’ve tried to keep up with that,” Masters said. “… This is my second consecutive biathlon medal that I’d shot clean for, which I don’t normally do. I’m so proud of myself.” 

The U.S. Para Nordic team has seen the most success at the Paralympic Games so far, boasting seven total medals, thanks in part to Gretsch and Masters. The duo accounts for half of Team USA’s 10 total medals as of Tuesday afternoon, and the only two American gold medals so far.  

Despite their continued success, both women remained humble and thankful to their support systems, who have been there for them at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games over the last six months.  

“We have such a strong program and great support from our team,” Gretsch said. “… Back home I have a ton of family and friends that are supporting me. It’s so great knowing that they’re supporting me while they’re there and watching and cheering me on.”  

Dan Cnossen competes in the Para Biathlon Men’s Middle Distance Sitting at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on March 8, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.In men’s Para biathlon middle-distance sitting, Team USA’s Dan Cnossen and Aaron Pike finished 12th and 15th r, respectively. Cnossen, the silver medalist from PyeongChang 2018, said it was tough day of shooting for the American men.  

Both Cnossen and Gretsch have pointed to the altitude as a difficult component in both the cross- country and biathlon races.  

“I’ve just been struggling a little bit with the altitude and the dry air,” Gretsch said. “It just feels like it’s your heart rate is skyrocketing, and you can’t take a deep breath. Today, it felt a little bit better so maybe just more time here helped.” 

First-time Paralympian Dani Aravich represented Team USA in women’s middle- distance standing classification, placing 11th with eight total missed shots. Men’s standing athletes Ruslan Reiter, a two-time Paralympian, and Drew Shea, a 24-year- old first-time Paralympian, placed 12th and 13th r, respectively.  

Several of Tuesday’s competitors will take the snow again on Wednesday to compete in the Para cross-country sprint races. 

Want to follow Team USA athletes during the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022? Visit www.teamusa.org/beijing-2022-paralympic-games to view the competition schedule, medal table and results.

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Paralympics Tagged With: Kendall Gretsch

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