PARIS, FRANCE – Nineteen-year-old Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California) made sure the first Paralympic medal of his career was gold after putting together a massive personal-best time in the 100-meter T63 final to claim the title in a photo finish. The University of Southern California commit’s title was the sole medal for Team USA in track and field on the fourth day of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

In a race in which the top five athletes were separated by .1 seconds, Frech sprinted to a 12.06-second result, edging Denmark’s Daniel Wagner by .02 seconds and Vinicius Goncalves Rodriguez of Brazil by .04 for the victory.

"I’m quite shocked,” he said. “I’m still taking it in right now. I was definitely not expecting to go out there and win. I knew I could, but I have high jump tomorrow and that’s where my focus has been. I was treating this as a warm-up for high jump, to get the blood flowing and have a good race, then come back tomorrow and win high jump."

Frech, who made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo, is the 2023 world champion and current world record holder in the high jump T63, in which he competes tomorrow night. He also finished fifth in long jump on Aug. 31 to open his Paris campaign.

Competing in front of a crowd at a Paralympic Games for the first time has been an incredible experience, Frech said.

“This is a special opportunity for Paralympic sport,” he said. “What this Games is doing for the movement is unlike anything I’ve ever seen – the energy, the atmosphere reminds me of London 2012. I look forward to riding this momentum into LA (Los Angeles 2028 Games), but right now I’m happy to have gold. I’m still not satisfied, though - I’m hungry to get gold in the high jump."

Competing on the Paralympic stage for the first time since 2016, Desmond Jackson (Durham, North Carolina) also qualified for the event final alongside Frech and finished seventh in 12.49. Jackson wraps his second Paralympic Games with the 100-meter.

Three-time Paralympic medalist Cassie Mitchell (Warner, Oklahoma) placed fourth in the women’s discus F53 with a best throw of 13.99 meters. Mitchell, who is competing in her fourth Paralympic Games and is also a faculty member at Georgia Institute of Technology, said she was happy with her performance.

“Everybody wants a medal, but the actual distance of the throw, the technique was good, it was just a couple inches shy,” she said. “To come in fourth and get a good distance on the throw, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m going to build on this and go for my fifth Games and another medal in L.A.”

Three-time Paralympic medalist Hunter Woodhall (Syracuse, Utah) placed sixth in the men’s 100-meter T64 competition after being the lone American to qualify for the event final. Woodhall broke 11 seconds and missed a podium spot by .2 seconds. He still has his signature 400-meter event left on his plate in Paris.

Competing in his first Paralympic throwing event, Derek Loccident (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) placed 10th in the men’s javelin F64 with a personal-best mark of 47.58. Loccident started throwing javelin this year and only began competing internationally in the event at the 2024 world championships. He will return to competition on Sept. 4 for the long jump, his best event.

In preliminary heat action, Susannah Scaroni (Tekoa, Washington) won her heat of the women’s 1500-meter T54 race to advance to tomorrow’s final. Scaroni will look to add a third medal to her Paris resumé after winning silver and bronze in the 5000-meter and the 800-meter T54 races. Teammate Jenna Fesemyer (Ravenna, Ohio) placed seventh in her heat and did not advance, but will compete in the marathon on the final day of racing.

Having also won two medals already in Paris, Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland) cruised into his third event final by winning his prelim heat of the men’s 1500-meter T54. Teammate Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) did not advance to the final after placing seventh in his prelim, but will return for the marathon on Sept. 8.

Two-time defending Paralympic champion Breanna Clark (Los Angeles, California) also opened her third Paralympic Games on a strong foot, qualifying for tomorrow’s final of the women’s 400-meter T20 after clocking a season-best time of 56.32.

Track and field competition in Paris resumes Sept. 2 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 2, 2024

GOLD
Ezra Frech – men’s 100-meter T63

Other Team USA Results

Cassie Mitchell – 4th, women’s discus F53

Hunter Woodhall – 6th, men’s 100-meter T64

Desmond Jackson – 7th, men’s 100-meter T63

Derek Loccident – 10th, men’s javelin F64

Breanna Clark – Finals, women’s 400-meter T20

Susannah Scaroni – Finals, women’s 1500-meter T54

Daniel Romanchuk – Finals, men's 1500-meter T54

Jenna Fesemyer – Prelims, women’s 1500-meter T54

Aaron Pike – Prelims, men’s 1500-meter T54

Frech Snags Surprise Gold in 100-Meter T63 Photo Finish

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