Remembering Some First-Time Medalists From The Paralympics

Breaking a world record is nothing new to Noelle Malkamaki.

Heading into the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Decatur, Illinois, native had already done it at three major competitions. So, for her Paralympic debut, she set out to not just break her own record in the women’s shot put F46, but to shatter it.

That’s exactly what the 23-year-old did.

After resetting her own world record to 13.6 meters at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials this past July, Malkamaki launched the shot 13.95 meters on her second throw in Paris. Then she recorded a throw of 14.06 meters on her fourth attempt, which secured her first Paralympic gold medal.

“This moment means the world to me,” Malkamaki, also the two-time defending world champion, said after winning gold. “This exceeds everything I’ve dreamt about.”

Malkamaki was one of 11 first-time Paralympic medalists for Team USA in Paris. Here’s a look at some others.

Debutant Double

Jaydin Blackwell experienced a similarly meteoric rise as Malkamaki.

The Oak Park, Michigan, native burst onto the international Para track-and-field stage by winning gold in the men’s 100- and 400-meter T38 at the 2023 world championships — he then matched those results at the 2024 world championships this past May.

Over the course of those four world titles, Blackwell also set a world record in the 400 last year and then a world record in the 100 at the 2024 Paralympic trials.

At the Paralympics, Blackwell proved he was ready for the spotlight by setting a new world record in the 100 then tying his world record in the 400 to haul in two golds.

In an interview after securing his second gold, Blackwell sent out a statement to the rest of his competitors.

“I’m here, and I’m the best — number one, nobody can stop me,” he said.

While Blackwell received the headlines in those races, another American shared the podium with him. Ryan Medrano first heard about Para track and field from two-time Paralympian Noelle Lambert when the two appeared on season 43 of “Survivor.”

Since then, the 27-year-old Savannah, Georgia, native has competed in two world championships, winning silver in the 400 T38 this past spring. During his Paralympic debut, Medrano tailed Blackwell in the 100 and 400 on his way to two silver medals.

A Day Early

Ezra Frech made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo as a 16-year-old. When he finished fifth in the men’s high jump T63, the Los Angeles native vowed to himself that he’d use that as a fuel to one day become a Paralympic champion. 

First, he became a world champion in the event in 2023. Then, after settling for silver in the high jump at this year’s worlds, Frech posted on his Instagram account that he’d count down for 100 days until he won gold at the Paralympics.

That countdown came to fruition on Sept. 3 when Frech kept his promise and became a Paralympic high jump champion. Only that wasn’t Frech’s first gold at the Games. One day earlier, Frech threw off his countdown when he surprised even himself by winning gold in the men’s 100 T63.

“Honestly high jump’s tomorrow, I was literally treating this in my head as a shake out for high jump,” Frech said after the 100. “I’m going to run my all, I’m going to lean at the line, we’ll see where I end up. I crossed the line, I had no idea, looked up, saw my name first — not what I was expecting but damn am I hyped.”

Throwing Phenom

At 16, Arelle Middleton was the youngest member of the U.S. track and field team in Paris.

Middleton hadn’t even finished her sophomore year at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, when she competed at the world championships in May, where she won silver in the women’s shot put F64.

The teenager’s Paralympic debut started with a 10th-place finish in the discus F64. Four days later, she proved that her performance at worlds wasn’t a fluke, winning silver in the shot put.

Middleton’s personal-best throw of 12.19 meters was 0.34 meters short of gold medalist Yao Juan of China, who secured her sixth Paralympic gold medal. Now 40, Yao made her Paralympic debut in 2000, eight years before Middleton was born.

Luke Hanlon is a sportswriter and editor based in Minneapolis. He is a freelance contributor to usparatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.