A Long Island native, Mikey Brannigan was diagnosed with autism at age three and was non-verbal until age five. His running ability quickly became evident when he began training with the Rolling Thunder Special Needs Program, enabling him, as an eighth grader, to claim a place on his high school varsity team.
From there, it was onward and upward. Mikey twice earned high school All-America honors and, in February 2015, was named Sports Illustrated’s High School Athlete of the Month. Such an honor was prescient: little more than one year later, Mikey was the Paralympic Games champion, having claimed the gold medal in the T20 1500m.
There have been plentiful other laurels, among them seven world championships medals (four golds and three silvers), including the 2024 1500m crown, and the first ever sub-four minute mile by an ambulatory Paralympian. At the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, Mikey placed fourth in the T20 1500m. Recent form suggests that he may be set to return to the podium in Paris, his third Paralympic Games.
Paris Result:
Bronze medal, T20 1500m (3:49.91).