Blackwell Lowers His Own WR, Leads 1-2 Finish For United States

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by USA Today Sports

Breaking world records is nothing new for Jaydin Blackwell.

Last month at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in Miramar, Florida, Blackwell lowered the men’s 100-meter T38 world record to 10.72 seconds to win the U.S. title and punch his ticket to his first Paralympic Games.

Forty-two days later, Blackwell did it again, but this time to become a Paralympic champion.

In front of 70,000 strong from Stade de France on day two of the Paris Paralympic Games, Blackwell obliterated his own world record in the 100 final, running 10.64 to pick up the United States’ first gold medal of the games.

“It’s a real good thing for me,” Blackwell said to NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson after the race.

“I’ve been looking for this ever since the (U.S.) Trials when I broke that record. Now, to come here and do the same thing again, but 10.64, I thought I’d never really get to that point.”

Blackwell, who also owns the world record in the 400 T38 division at 48.87, pulled along his fellow countryman Ryan Medrano to a personal best and silver finish in 10.97. Columbia’s Juan Alejandro Campas Sanchez took bronze in 10.99, also a personal best.

“That’s why I’m standing here right next to the guy with gold and with my silver. .02; that’s it,” Medrano said. 

Blackwell’s gold-medal performance was just the first of the day for the U.S. as Daniel Romanchuk followed a little over an hour later with his own.

Romanchuck, a Tokyo 400 gold medalist for T54 athletes, used a late surge in the final straightaway of the men’s 5,000 T54 final to win in 10:55.28, just five-tenths of a second ahead of six-time Paralympic gold medalist Marcel Hug of Switzerland.

Along with those two golds and one silver, the U.S. collected another four medals to put their games total to eight.

Liza Corso put up a seasons-best time of 4:23.45 to take home bronze in the women’s 1,500 T13 final. 

Noah Malone earned his second career silver medal in the men’s 100 T12 division, running 10.71 in the final. Turkey’s Serkan Yildirim edged out Malone for gold in 10.70.

In the early session, Beatriz Hatz secured bronze in the women’s long jump T64 final, jumping (5.38m), and Susannah Scaroni, who won the 5,000 T54 gold in Tokyo, took silver in the women’s final, clocking 10:45.18. 

Jaryd Clifford, a para athlete from Australia who was featured in a Quarantine Conversation on DyeStat, initially finished third in the 5,000 meters but was subsequently disqualified when he accidentally let go of the tether he was using with his guide. Clifford competes in the vision impaired category.