PARIS, FRANCE – Team USA got a boost from young talent on the fifth night of track and field action at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Twenty-year-old Jaydin Blackwell (Oak Park, Michigan) and 19-year-old Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California) earned their second gold medals of the competition to lead a five-medal night for the Americans.

Frech’s title is his first Paralympic gold medal in the men’s high jump T63, while Blackwell tied his own world record and took home the men’s 400-meter T38 title. Earning silver medals for Team USA were Ryan Medrano (El Paso, Texas) and Brittni Mason (Cleveland, Ohio), while Susannah Scaroni (Tekoa, Washington) brought home her team-leading third medal of the Games with a bronze.

For the second time in Paris, Blackwell and Medrano established themselves as the best two male T38 sprinters in the competition. Their 1-2 finish in the men’s 400-meter T38 mirrored their 100-meter result on Aug. 31, with Blackwell taking gold and tying his own world record in 48.49.

Blackwell now has four world championship gold medals and now two Paralympic titles in the past two years.

“I'm glad, appreciative and really excited that I've been able to do this twice in a row now,” he said. “I'm really happy that I've got the abilities to do what I need to do on that track and get two golds. I could've broken the world record because I was looking at the clock, giving it a few glances, and that probably slowed me down a little bit. But I still tied it so I'm happy about that and everything.”

Medrano, earning his second silver medal of the Games in what has been a meteoric rise in the sport, clocked a personal-best time of 49.74. When he began running competitively just over two years ago, he said he dreaded the 400-meter distance. He has since built the stamina to be among the best in the world.

“I’m a heavy guy for the 400, so the purpose for me was learning how to push myself past my limits,” Medrano said. “The first time I did a 400 I was on the ground and my eye was twitching, as that’s how my brain works. This is the first time I’ve been excited to run the 400, and I’ve properly prepared for it.”

Blackwell’s Paralympic debut ends with two gold medals and two world records, while Medrano will complete his first Paralympic Games in tomorrow’s long jump competition.

“I love doing jump,” he said. “It’s more fun, and it’s my last event, and I’ll give it my all.”

Frech, meanwhile, won his second Paralympic medal in as many days, taking gold in the high jump T63. Though he nabbed a title in the men’s 100-meter T63 race last night, it was the high jump title that had been his goal since he set out in Para track and field.

It meant the world to him, he said.

“Getting to win this gold in front of my family and friends meant so much to me,” Frech said. “I had 60-plus people come all the way out here to watch me compete. I was not going to give them a bad experience.”

Frech’s best jump of 1.94 meters set a Paralympic Record and topped Sharad Kumar of India, who took silver at 1.88 meters.

For Frech, who has been posting on his social media accounts counting down the days until he became a high jump Paralympic champion, a surprise gold medal in the 100-meter did not deter him from his ultimate goal.

"I was just deciding which side of history I was going to be on,” he said. “Do I want to remember these Paralympics as the Games where I won the 100m, but lost the high jump the next day? The event I’ve put the most effort into? It’s been so difficult to come from the high of winning the 100 and then trying to forget that. I had to mute all notifications on my phone as people kept messaging me. I almost had to forget, leave it in the past."

Teammate and 2020 Paralympic champion Sam Grewe (Middlebury, Indiana) saw his Paris run come to a close with an eighth-place finish in the high jump T63, finishing at a height of 1.72.

Frech, who considers Grewe a mentor, expressed his gratitude for a legend in the sport..

“I love Sam literally like an older brother,” he said. “I’ve been in that position and I know what it feels like. I’m here because of him. One of the reasons I got into high jump in the first place was watching him win his world title in 2015. I can’t help but feel gutted for him, but he can hold his head high. He’s in med school full time while also trying to train full-time. I told him ‘No one is facing the struggles that you’re facing, so please realize that.’”

Mason earned her fourth Paralympic medal with a photo finish silver in the women’s 100-meter T47. In a podium that was decided by .16 seconds, Mason ran a season-best time of 12.10, just .06 off of the gold medal pace set by Kiara Rodriguez of Ecuador.

“Oh my goodness, the race went so fast,” Mason said. “I honestly can’t tell you anything from start to finish. I just remember starting, the gun going off, and I remember finishing. I don't remember my time on the board because, oh my gosh, I thought, 'this is so surreal'.”

Mason will return to the track for the 200-meter T47 on Sept. 7. She is the reigning Paralympic silver medalist in the 200-meter.

“I am ready for this 200,” she said. “I am super excited. I finished this 100 strong. This gave me confidence for my next race. I executed that 100 as best as I could. I’ll go back and talk with my coach, see if there is anything to fix, a couple of rest days and then after (that) the 200m."

Scaroni’s third medal in Paris came in dramatic fashion in the final of the women’s 1500-meter T54. Heading into the third lap, Scaroni was able to avoid a crash between two athletes in the pack, then at the beginning of the final lap, Scaroni nearly crashed again, but was able to control her chair and push into a comfortable bronze medal position.

“It’s bittersweet when there is a crash,” she said. “So it's racing, but there is also a bit of disappointment too. Everyone wants to feel as strong as they can to make the podium. “It was kind of sketchy in the last lap. I went up on two wheels, and I am so grateful that I was able to back down and finish.”

Scaroni clocked a time of 3:16.68. It marks the fifth Paralympic medal of her career in her fourth Games. She will return to the track to compete in the marathon on Sept. 8.

After winning his third straight high jump Paralympic title earlier in the competition, Roderick Townsend (Stockton, California) placed fourth in the men’s long jump T47 competition with a best jump of 6.89 meters. Jumping at his third Paralympic Games and first as a father, Townsend wraps his Paris slate having continued his streak of high jump titles – he hasn’t lost a major international high jump competition since prior to 2015.

After winning Paralympic titles in Rio and Tokyo, Breanna Clark (Los Angeles, California) finished fourth in today’s women’s 400-meter T20 final. Clark got off to a quick start, leading the race until the final stretch. She finished in 56.43 to conclude her third Paralympic Games.

Three-time Paralympic medalist Kym Crosby (Yuba City, California) put together a strong performance in the women’s 100-meter T13 to finish fourth in her first major international race since winning bronze in Tokyo. Crosby has been kept out of competition due to injury, but responded today with a top-four finish in her return to the track.

“I’m so happy that I could cry,” Crosby said. “I know that I didn’t get on the podium and it would have been awesome to be on the podium again, but just getting fourth place and being here, I’m so ecstatic after the two and a half years that I’ve had.”

Teammate Erin Kerkhoff (Coralville, Iowa) also made the event final and placed seventh. Both will return for the 400-meter T13 on Sept. 7.

Three days after winning the first Paralympic medal of her career, a bronze in long jump, Beatriz Hatz (Lakewood, Colorado) earned a fifth-place finish in the women’s 200-meter T64 with a time of 27.45. Teammate and Paralympic rookie Annie Carey (Boise, Idaho) was right behind Hatz, clocking a time of 27.62 and placing sixth. It was an Americas Record for the 19-year-old Carey, who is classified as a T44 but whose events are combined with the T64 athletes.

Two-time Paralympian Joel Gomez (Encinitas, California) set a massive personal best en route to a seventh-place finish in the men’s 1500-meter T13 race. Gomez, whose previous personal best was 3:50.80, ran 3:48.42 to break the 3:50 mark for the first time in his career.

Gomez credited a recent move to competing at Purdue University, where he is majoring in civil engineering while competing in track, to his increased fitness.

“It’s been a huge different from Tokyo, I knew I was in better shape,” Gomez said. “It means so much to PR and finally break that 3:50 barrier that I’ve been trying to do for quite awhile now, so that’s exciting.

The main difference for me [being at Purdue] has been the racing opportunities. Being able to travel to meets with the team is really helpful and just getting more experience. That’s what matters when it comes to racing tactically and that’s something I could use more practice with.”

In his third race in the Paris, Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland) placed ninth in the men’s 1500-meter T54 with a season-best time of 2:54.31. He will return to the track Sept. 5 for the 800-meter competition. Romanchuk already has a gold and a bronze to his name in Paris.

Track and field competition in Paris resumes Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. local time. All sessions will be streamed live on NBC’s Peacock. Follow U.S. Paralympics Track & Field on Facebook, Instagram and X for team results and updates from Paris 2024.

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

Team USA Medals – September 3, 2024

GOLD
Jaydin Blackwell – men’s 400-meter T38

Ezra Frech – men’s high jump T63

SILVER
Ryan Medrano – men’s 400-meter T38

Brittni Mason – women’s 100-meter T47

BRONZE
Susannah Scaroni – women’s 1500-meter T54

Other Team USA Results

Breanna Clark – 4th, women’s 400-meter T20

Roderick Townsend – 4th, men’s long jump T47

Kym Crosby – 4th, women’s 100-meter T13

Beatriz Hatz – 5th, women’s 200-meter T64

Annie Carey – 6th, women’s 200-meter T64

Joel Gomez – 7th, men’s 1500-meter T13

Erin Kerkhoff – 7th, women’s 100-meter T13

Sam Grewe – 8th, men’s high jump T63

Daniel Romanchuk – 9th, men’s 1500-meter T54

Blackwell, Frech Strike Gold for Second Time in Paris

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