U.S. Frame Runners Given ‘Whole New Goal To Reach’ With The Event Set To Make Its Paralympic Debut

Since Sayers Grooms was 6 years old, she’s dreamed of becoming a Paralympian. For most of her life, however, that dream couldn’t become a reality. 

The Gainesville, Florida, native has ataxic cerebral palsy, which affects balance and coordination. So, Grooms competes in frame running, a track-and-field event where athletes push a three-wheeled frame for balance while they race toward the finish line. 

In early June, it was announced that frame running would make its Paralympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, putting Grooms one step closer to fulfilling her lifelong goal. 

“I’m just so happy that new frame runners will have the opportunity to be Paralympians when they come into the sport and won’t have to fight as hard as all of us have,” Grooms, 20, said.

U.S. teammate Michael Anwar shares Grooms’ enthusiasm for a potential Paralympic experience.

“Oh, man, I’m so excited,” Anwar said. “It’s always been my dream. It just gave me a whole new drive and a whole new goal to reach. You put all your time and effort into something. It’s all worth it.”

In the six years since he discovered the sport in 2019 through ParaSport Spokane in his hometown, Anwar has come a long way. The 29-year-old is currently ranked fourth in the world in the men’s 200-meter T72 and 10th globally in the 100-meter, which will be the distance featured in LA. 

Anwar and Grooms were the first Americans to compete in frame running at a world championships, doing so in 2023 in Paris. Anwar placed seventh in the 100 meters that year. 

Grooms, who got her first frame at age 8, had success in the sport right away. As a 14-year-old in 2019, she won every race she entered. 

“I had been working very hard that season, and I knew what I was capable of,” Grooms recalled. “It was also my first season with a real coach.”

By 2021, she held world records concurrently in the 100, 200 and 400.

Grooms reached the then-pinnacle of frame running by qualifying for the world championships in 2023. Disaster struck during the 100, as her right shoe came off during the race, leading to an eighth-place finish. 

A year later, Grooms redeemed herself with a bronze in the 100 at the world championships. 

Ahead of frame running’s debut at the Games, Anwar said he’s been thrilled with how much he’s seen the sport grow since he picked it up six years ago. Grooms, however, sees a lot of room for the sport to continue to get bigger. 

“Frame running is still so new in the U.S.,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of competitors yet. They’re slowly growing, and everyone’s slowly improving.”

Grooms, who completed her first year as an industrial and labor relations major at Cornell University in the spring, took off the fall semester off to focus on preparing for, and competing at, this year’s world championships in New Delhi. 

She finished fourth in the 100 and 400. 

Anwar, who works as a graphic designer, said he would like to compete through the Paralympic Games Brisbane 2032 and then possibly train the next generation as they strive to achieve their own Paralympic goals.

Anwar noted that he continues to learn about the sport to this day.

“With starting a new sport there is always new challenges,” said Anwar, “learning about the equipment, learning about technique and form, learning about ways to train off the frame and on the frame.”

He encourages other athletes to give frame running a shot.

“I always say you don’t know until you try,” he said. “Take the opportunity to get on the frame and have fun with it. A lot of the athletes I hope get on frames are youth, so I try to make that experience as fun and comfortable as I can for them.”  

Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to usatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.