The Games are Over. Let the Games Begin.
The Games are over, so let the Games begin. As the world knows, the Olympic Games in Paris came to a stunning conclusion on August 11th, the NYAC having claimed a startling 30 medals – 10 gold – its greatest tally since the St Louis Games of 1904. But the action in Paris is far from finished; today sees the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Paralympic Games, featuring competition as intense as any at the Olympics. Fittingly, four NYAC members will be vying for medals, all of whom have reached those dizzy peaks on previous occasions.
No athlete has reached those athletic heights more frequently than Tatyana McFadden, who already has 19 Games medals to her name, plus one from the 2014 Winter Paralympics. In Paris, McFadden’s sixth appearance at a summer Games, she will be contesting five track and field events: the T54 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and marathon. Such a breadth of events illustrates not only the NYAC woman’s ability but, even more so, her competitive mettle. While nothing is assured, it will be a surprise if McFadden does not return to the US with still more hardware to display on her mantelpiece.
Hunter Woodhall is another NYAC track and field Paralympian with expectations of being among the medals in Paris, though he may have to compete for space on the family mantelpiece given that his wife is Olympic long jump champion, Tara Davis-Woodhall. Speed is clearly in abundance in that household, as Woodhall will be contesting the T64 100m and T62 400m in Paris, being a strong medal hope in both events. Earlier this year, he claimed silver medals at the Para World Championships in Kobe, Japan and followed that with US records in the T62 100m (10.75) and T62 400m (46.09) at the Paralympic Track and Field Trials in July.
Mikey Brannigan is among the USA’s most celebrated Paralympians, having won the T20 1500m at the Para Games in Rio in 2016. Although he finished just outside the medals in Tokyo, taking fourth place, Brannigan has a wealth of experience on which to draw, not least being seven world championships medals – four golds – and the distinction of being the first ambulatory Paralympian to run a sub-four minute mile.
The fourth NYAC member competing in the Paris Para Games is Grace Norman who will contest the PTS5 triathlon. Norman comes into this competition as the 2016 champion and the 2021 silver medalist, as well as a five-time world champion. The competition in the Paris triathlon will be nothing other than intense; but, if there is one athlete with the tools to endure and prevail, it is Norman.
The four NYAC athletes competing in Paris constitute the largest ever NYAC delegation at a Paralympic Games. In that, they represent the early steps in a burgeoning athletic legacy to, ultimately, compare with that which the Club has built in the Olympics. All of their competitions will be documented on this purpose-built site, as well as in The Winged Foot magazine. Check back often and watch for updates as the NYAC’s 2024 Paralympians add to the Club’s unequalled athletic history.