Sprints, Throws And Jumps? It’s All In A Day’s Work For Derek Loccident

After winning silver in the men’s long jump T64 at last summer’s Para track and field world championships, Derek Loccident said he wanted to qualify for five events at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

With a full offseason to train, Loccident has pulled that back to four events. The 25-year-old then took his first step toward achieving that goal at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in March, as he participated in the 100-meter, high jump and javelin. He was also planning on competing in the long jump but pulled out due to an equipment issue.

The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native won the men’s javelin T64 event with a throw of 47.05 meters. He took second overall in the 100 and high jump, although he posted the best results of anyone in the T64 class in those events.

Loccident’s results were good enough to earn him a trip to the world championships this week in Kobe, Japan, where he plans to compete in all four events.

“He’s an insane athlete,” said Sam Grewe, a two-time Paralympic high jumper who won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics. “Watching him come into the world of adaptive sports has been like, ‘Wow, he can do whatever he wants.’ I wish there was a Paralympic pentathlon … because he would take gold in a heartbeat. He is the most freakily athletic person.”

Loccident is still new to the Para sports scene following his left foot being severed during a train accident in 2018.

At the time, he was a sophomore linebacker and safety on the Central Oklahoma football team, an NCAA Division II program. After missing his junior season, Loccident returned to the field as a senior with a prosthetic leg. Following that, U.S. Paralympics Track & Field coach Joaquim Cruz invited him to Chula Vista, California, to train. Loccident did so in 2022 after graduating from Central Oklahoma with a criminal justice degree.

“Thanks to my football background, being able to move into different positions and high-intensity areas, just being able to do all these events, it brings more joy to me doing this,” Loccident said. “It’s fun. I’m feeling like a kid again, being able to jump in sand, throw a stick, run fast. This is stuff that I did as a kid growing up so it’s just fun to put all that together and do it in track and field.”

On top of winning silver in the long jump in his world championships debut last summer, Loccident placed 10th in the 100.

The javelin is a new event for him, one he debuted at nationals with a breakthrough performance. His opening throw was, for him, a subpar 38.8 meters, but each of his ensuing five tosses traveled farther, culminating in his final effort of 47.05.

Loccident attributed the poor start to not having adequate time to warm up.

“We built off of it and adjusted. That’s all you can ask for an athlete, honestly,” Loccident said. “That’s what I expected from myself.”

Loccident’s quick adjustments and adaptations to new sports come natural to him. He said he had the ability on the football field to make split-second decisions regardless of what position he played.

Of his four track and field events, the long jump is his favorite. One reason could be due to how his 6-foot-2 frame flies through the air.

“That’s my baby,” Loccident said. “Once I picked up on it, I’m like, ‘Man, this is really like art.’ You gain bits and pieces here and then notice how cool it looks on video as well.”

Loccident is excited about a big summer. After the world championships in Japan, he’ll head to Miramar, Florida, for the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Track and Field, held July 18-20. If all goes as expected, he’ll be in Paris Aug. 28-Sept. 8 for the Paralympics.

The long jump and 100 figure to be his best shots at qualifying for the Games. Already established as a contender in the long jump based on last year’s worlds performance, Loccident appears ready to make a move as a sprinter. At nationals, he finished right behind three-time Paralympic medalist Hunter Woodhall, who set an Americas record of 11.00; Loccident posted a personal-best time of 11.38 seconds.

“I had him in the first 50,” Loccident said with a slight chuckle. “But he’s a technician, that’s Hunter himself. ... I know that that’s the standard, he’s the guy that now I have to beat. I have stuff to work on.”

How many events he does in Paris depends on his performance in July’s trials, but his goal in each will be the same.

“If you’re going to do them, might as well do them all the way. That’s me,” Loccident said. “I don’t think I’m not able to medal in any of the events I’m doing. All of them. ... That’s me having to also put in the work as well if I’m going against the best. If you want to be the best, you got to beat the best so that’s the main goal.”

Steve Drumwright is a journalist based in Murrieta, California. He is a freelance contributor to usparatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.