SAINT-DENIS, France — Jaydin Blackwell kept his head clear leading into Saturday’s 100-meter T38 final at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
“Just push out, do you, get out, run, you got this, just don’t worry about it — don’t worry about anything else except you, yourself and what you got in front of you,” Blackwell recalled telling himself before the race.
He felt slow once the race started, unsure if he would pace at the world-record time he set during the U.S. Paralympic track and field trials just earlier this summer. And he didn’t run at that pace — he ran faster.
Blackwell, an Oak Park, Michigan native, earned Paralympic gold with a time of 10.64 — breaking his own world record. Right behind Blackwell was fellow American Ryan Medrano at a silver-medal time of 10.97 and Team USA’s Nick Mayhugh finished seventh in the race at 11.37.
“I mean, it was a perfect race,” Blackwell said. “I was really just focused on what I needed to do and really just get out and get to the line as fast as possible. I’m just really glad that I can be able to do the things that I can do.”
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It was quite the Paralympic debut for both Blackwell and Medrano. The two share a close bond, one that includes training together but also hanging out outside of the track. There is some friendly competitiveness, too.
Blackwell said that running alongside Medrano gives him a boost of energy. For Medrano, it is a quest to catch up to his teammate — pushing him as he looks to become the fast American himself.
“Having Jaydin running like lightning, that’s helped me push myself that much faster,” Medrano said. “I want to eventually catch him. He’s a 10.64, so I’m going to have to train a lot — slim down because I’m at 210 pounds right now. So I’m doing my best, but having them on the team has really pushed me to develop as best as I can.”
Both Blackwell and Medrano will be back on the track for the 400, with the final slated for Tuesday. Blackwell has been hard at work, though, to claim a gold medal in the event while Medrano hopes to hunt him down.
Blackwell’s trainer has been putting him through the “wringer,” running 600 meters over and over again in training to build up stamina for the 400. That, paired with a lot of strength training, has Blackwell in position for a second gold medal.
The training has already paid off for the 20-year-old with a fresh world record and a gold medal in the largest venue of his career.
‘I don’t like to think about all that all at the same time because it could cloud people’s minds,” Blackwell said. “… I just take it one step at a time, just take it in slow. Then when I’m done with that, just move on to the next.”
Gold for Daniel Romanchuk in the 5,000 T54
Daniel Romanchuk clocked in a 10:55.28 to take home gold in the 5,000 T54 — a classification for athletes who use a wheelchair to race. It is the first gold medal for the three-time Paralympian.
He narrowly beat world record holder and silver medalist Marcel Hug, who finished at 10:55.78.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to bring home gold for the U.S.,” Romanchuk said. “Ultimately, records will be broken and there is really something — records and stuff like that are, I view as, things to be pushed, not something to be owned.”
Liza Corso picks up bronze in the women’s 1,500 T13
Liza Corso has not had an ideal run-up to her second Paralympics. The New Hampshire native has run just 8 miles in the past six weeks after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her femur.
Even while dealing with injury, Corso ran a 4:23.45 to earn the bronze medal in the 1,500-meter T13 on Saturday.
“I worked my butt off the past six weeks and (dealing with) the fear going into the race of not knowing if my leg would hold out and if I’d be able to push through,” Corso said.
Corso had to overcome the mental hurdle that came with her injury, not feeling her best heading into the race. Her support system at Lipscomb where she runs collegiately helped her with those mental challenges.
The Bison were having a watch party for Corso’s race, she said. There have also been countless texts of support as she headed into Saturday’s final.
Now, Corso is a two-time medalist after earning a silver in Tokyo.
“It was crazy. Just the weight of all the pressure and nerves going into it and just the hours of sweating my butt off on the bike,” Corso said. “Just knowing that I have so much work that went into it. It was just super special.”
Americans on the podium
It was a busy day at Stade de France on Saturday.
Susannah Scaroni got the first medal of the day for the Americans after finishing second in the women’s 5,000-meter T54 — an event for which she holds the world. Beatriz Hatz, from Littleton, Colorado, earned bronze in the women’s long jump T64.
Noah Malone rounded out the night for the Americans with a silver medal in the men’s 100-meter T12.
