PARIS, FRANCE – For the second day in a row, Team USA hit world record marks en route to Paralympic titles as track and field competition hit the halfway mark at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Two-time defending world champion Noelle Malkamaki (Decatur, Illinois) set the pace for the Americans today, becoming the first female F46 shot putter to throw over 14 meters in a competition.

The recent DePaul University graduate finished with her first Paralympic gold medal to highlight four medals on the day for Team USA at the Stáde de France. Also finding the podium for the U.S. was Tatyana McFadden (Baltimore, Maryland), who made history with her 20th Paralympic track and field medal and 21st Paralympic medal overall, and the long jump combination of Derek Loccident (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) and Jarryd Wallace (Athens, Georgia), who went 2-3 in the long jump T64.

Malkamaki’s 14.06-meter throw meant more than just a gold medal – she has said repeatedly that hitting the 14-meter mark has been her goal since making her Para track and field debut at world championships in 2023.

Now, she’s pushing the F46 classification to new levels, winning today’s competition by more than a meter and a half. It was also the first throws medal of Paris 2024 for Team USA.

“I’ve been waiting for it for a long time,” Malkamaki said. “I should have done it last year. My coach and I sat down and thought, ‘It’s time'. I feel like I left no stone unturned in getting every small detail right.”

The record Malkamaki broke was her own – several times over. She most recently pushed the world record distance out to 13.60 meters at U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Track & Field.

Today, consistency was key for Malkamaki, who recently wrapped up a four-year Division I throwing career at DePaul. The 23-year-old did not fault once on her six attempts.

“What was great was my consistency,” she said. “It only takes one throw to win a medal but being able put several throws out there, I’m thrilled with that. I trained a lot this summer to get over some mental hurdles, to be able to push the distance on my throw. I’m happy I could channel the excitement from the stadium into good throws – real power and excitement. I’ve really never had more fun at a meet in my entire life.”

McFadden’s 20th Paralympic track and field medal – and 21st overall Paralympic medal including her Para Nordic skiing silver – came in the women’s 100-meter T54 competition, where she clocked a time of 15.67 seconds.

In her seventh Paralympic Games, McFadden’s legacy as one of the greatest of all time continues.

"I think it's really cool that I've been in this sport for so long,” she said. “It's still very competitive bringing in medals, so I'm excited again, I'm hungry again.”

In today’s competition, McFadden got off to a strong start, but said her technique could have been better in the middle portion of the race.

“I wish that towards the end or towards the middle I executed a little bit more, a little longer, but it was a great race,” she said. “I learned a lot from it. And to have a 20th Paralympic medal in Summer Games, it's pretty cool. So I'm really, really excited about that."

She still has two individual events on her plate in Paris, including the 400-meter and the marathon.

In her 100-meter T54 campaign, 21-year-old Hannah Dederick (Mead, Washington) placed sixth in 16.50. She will return to the track alongside McFadden for tomorrow’s 400-meter competition.

In Team USA’s only double podium of the day, Loccident and Wallace finished the long jump T64 competition behind only world record holder Markus Rehm of Germany. It was the first Paralympic long jump competition for both Team USA athletes.

Loccident, who has won back-to-back long jump silver medals at the past two world championships, put together a best mark of 7.79 meters on his second attempt. In his Paralympic debut, he said he was feeling the nerves.

“It’s my first Paralympic Games, the nerves were there,” he said. “I was a little bit jittery at the beginning until I had my big jump in the second round and I started feeling comfortable. I am walking away with a silver medal, proud and happy to come out of my first Paralympic Games with a medal.”

One of the most versatile athletes on Team USA, Loccident has already competed in the 100-meter and the javelin in Paris. He will round out his competition slate with the high jump on Sept. 6.

“I have the high jump on Friday, so I am looking to walk away with another medal,” he said. “I was able to medal at my first high jump event in the world championships in Kobe, and I am looking to bring the same intensity I had in the long jump, transfer it over to high jump.”

Wallace, meanwhile, found the Paralympic podium for the second time in his fourth Paralympic appearance. He won a bronze medal in the 200-meter T64 in Tokyo before making the decision to switch to long jump.

He set a best mark of 7.49 meters en route to bronze.

“It’s crazy. It’s my fourth Games, and I was able to get onto the podium,” Wallace said. “It was a hard day on the track today. I had trouble managing my energy but there was a big one out there on the fourth jump. I just wish I had a centimeter back on the board.”

Teammate and Tokyo long jump T64 bronze medalist Trenten Merrill (San Juan Capistrano, California) placed ninth with a best mark of 6.41 meters. Merrill also took bronze at the 2024 world championships.

Paralympic bronze medalist Josh Cinnamo (San Diego, California) came up just short of his bid for a second Paralympic medal, placing fourth in the men’s shot put F46 with a best mark of 15.66 meters. Cinnamo won the bronze medal in his Paralympic debut in Tokyo.

“It’s a frustrating feeling when you’re right on the cusp of throwing far and knowing you can throw far, and then not throwing far,” he said. “When you’re here and in the ring, you just hope you can put it together. My family is here though and I got to stare them in the face the whole time, and that was the best part. Japan was great in it’s own right … but this has just been energy the whole time.”

After winning the first Paralympic medal of his career in the men’s 1500-meter T53, Brian Siemann (Champaign, Illinois) nearly had his second, placing fourth in a tight 100-meter competition. Siemann’s clocked a time of 15.27 and will return to the track for the 800-meter prelim tomorrow.

Rounding out their Paralympic Games were four-time Paralympic medalist Nick Mayhugh (Manassas, Virginia) and two-time Paralympic medalist Ryan Medrano (El Paso, Texas), both of whom set personal bests in the long jump T38 competition en route to fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively.

Mayhugh’s best jump of 6.32 meters was just .08 meters off of the bronze medal mark set by Jose Lemos Rivas of Colombia, while Medrano was right behind his teammate with a best jump of 6.23. Medrano excelled in his sprinting events in Paris, winning silver in both the 100-meter and 400-meter T38.

Team USA’s Chelsea Stein (Spring, Texas) finished seventh in the 100-meter T53 final in a time of 18.30. She has a quick turnaround before competing in the 400-meter T53 tomorrow.

After a late-night announcement made him an individual Paralympic champion for the first time in his career, four-time Paralympic medalist Noah Malone (Fishers, Indiana) responded with a convincing win in his preliminary heat of the 400-meter T12 competition.

Malone kicked off his Paris slate with a photo finish silver medal in the 100-meter T12, but World Para Athletics announced last night that the winner of the event had been disqualified, and that Malone would receive a reallocated gold medal.

“I didn’t know what to think,” he said. “I was almost in shock, really. To go from losing by 0.01 seconds to being frustrated about the circumstances and everything that went on, (and) getting told hours before your 400 (metres) prelims that, 'You are now Paralympic champion.'”

Rounding out prelim competition for Team USA was Taylor Swanson (Spokane, Washington) and Jaleen Roberts (Kent, Washington), who both qualified for tomorrow’s final of the women’s 100-meter T37. Swanson won her heat in 13.16, while Roberts, already a Paralympic medalist in Paris, finished second in her heat in 13.34.

Track and field competition in Paris resumes Sept. 5 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
Noelle Malkamaki – women’s shot put F46

SILVER
Tatyana McFadden – women’s 100-meter T54

Derek Loccident – men’s long jump T64

BRONZE
Jarryd Wallace – men’s long jump T64

Other Team USA Results

Josh Cinnamo – 4th, men’s shot put F46

Brian Siemann – 4th, men’s 100-meter T54

Nick Mayhugh – 5th, men’s long jump T38

Hannah Dederick – 6th, women’s 100-meter T54

Ryan Medrano – 6th, men’s long jump T38

Chelsea Stein – 7th, women’s 100-meter T53

Trenten Merrill – 9th, men’s long jump T64

Jaleen Roberts – Finals, women’s 100-meter T37

Taylor Swanson – Finals, women’s 100-meter T37

Malkamaki Smashes World Record, McFadden Earns 20th Paralympic Track Medal as Paralympics Pass Halfway Mark

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