Having a social life is often a relaxing experience, helping to take away from the worries of whatever else is going on in a person’s universe. Family, work, school or whatever else can be a lot if you don’t have something to balance yourself out.

But that isn’t how Sydney Barta sees things. The 19-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, is content being on her own and focusing on her priorities. And she has no shortage of them at the moment.

She’s currently in her second year at Stanford University, where she majors in bioengineering and human biology.

On top of her studies, she is also a world-class Para athlete. Barta, who finished fourth in the 200-meter T64 at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, is fresh off winning a gold medal in the same event and a silver in the 100-meter T64 at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in November.

With all that going on, it’d be hard to blame Barta for skimping some on her social life. Nonetheless, Barta admits she had made an effort to break free from her training and classwork to spend more time with friends lately.

“I think this quarter in particular, I’ve kind of tried to get more into the social life. I mean, it is Stanford, so we’re literally nerds," she said, laughing. "Compared to some people I’m doing pretty good, but my sorority has been really great.”

Yes, Barta joined a sorority and just became the social chair of an a capella group. Extracurricular activities aren’t a foreign concept to her.

“I think I’m happiest when I’m studying, when I’m running, when I’m listening,” Barta said. “That’s when I feel the most like myself.”

Barta was certainly feeling like herself in Santiago. Having won gold in the 200 at the 2019 Parapan Ams in Lima, Peru, Barta defended her title by setting a Parapan Am record of 27.45 seconds. Americans swept the podium in that race, with Beatriz Hatz winning silver and Annie Carey taking the bronze. Barta and Hatz switched places in the 100 as the same trio took the top three places. Hatz won gold in 13.41 seconds, with Barta just .07 behind for the silver and Carey at 13.89.

Her performance in Santiago came after a prolonged absence on the competitive stage. Following Tokyo, where she finished 0.2 seconds from a spot on the podium in the 200, Barta sustained a couple stress fractures in her right foot while preparing for nationals.

She pushed through the injury by continuing to train, but that proved detrimental and sidelined her from competition until Santiago. To wit, Barta felt she was overlooked when it came to choosing the team for this summer’s world championships.

Spending that much time away from elite competition helped provide her with the motivation to reestablish herself.

“You definitely have a little chip on your shoulder,” Barta said. “I felt like I had something to prove because I kind of felt like people were saying, ‘OK, well, she did all this in Tokyo and then she kind of disappeared for a year and then all of a sudden has all these other things.’ And for me, I just wanted to prove to myself that I’m able to bounce back from something like this.”

Barta did put her time to good use. This summer, she was a Wu Tsai Performance Scholar who completed research on gait analysis, which is an important topic for Barta. When she was 6 years old, she needed her lower left leg amputated after metal scaffolding fell onto her and shattered her left ankle. She developed compartment syndrome and needed 21 surgeries. Two years later, she got her first prosthetic, which let her get back to running.

“I never have summers to focus on other aspects of my life,” she said. “When I went and did this Wu Tsai thing, I think it was a really great way for me to see how my love of running, my love of human performance, my love of fitness could be ingrained into academics and could relate to the studies.”

Following Santiago, Barta doesn’t figure she’ll be overlooked in the coming year with the Paris Paralympics looming. And she’ll be ready when it’s time for the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in July. While she has classes and extracurriculars to worry about, she still prioritizes making time for the track and the weight room; it’s what makes her happy.

“I’m super excited for Paris,” Barta said. “Tokyo was such a great experience and I’d love to look at it with more mature eyes, right? And I think everything leads up for Paris as soon as January hits. That’s the No. 1 thing on everyone’s mind, and I just want to be prepared and ready and I’m ready to kick some butt, take some names. I just couldn’t be more excited to show everyone what I've got on the biggest stage.”

Steve Drumwright is a journalist based in Murrieta, California. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Time Away From Competition Reenergized Sydney Barta

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