Linden Williamson Lit Up The Track In July With Americas Records

July was a big month for Linden Williamson.

A T34 wheelchair racer, Williamson started the month by winning all three of her events at the Olomouc WPA Women’s Grand Prix in Czechia. That included a July 3 victory in the 800-meter with a time of 2:10.19 before setting an Americas record in the 400 a day later with a time of 59.80.

Three weeks later, she pivoted to the 2026 Toyota USA Track & Field Outdoor & Para National Championships, where she vastly improved her times, finishing the 800 in 1:57.07 on July 24, which tied the Americas record. She was the top T34 finisher in that race and the 400 the day before in 57.72 seconds, along with the 100 on July 25, crossing the line in 18.70 seconds.

All in a month’s work for the 25-year-old Texas Tech graduate student.

Her coach, Saúl Mendoza, said Williamson put together special performances at nationals. In fact, if Mendoza was a teacher, what grade would he have given her performance?

“I’d give her an A,” said Mendoza. “She did all the things we ask on the track. The 800 can become a tactical race, because you start fast and you’re looking at her time and distance, the technique and the fact that you have to learn to drive through the traffic.”

Williamson said she entered July with “a lot of excitement and trepidation.” Now that it’s all over, she’s relieved, but still enjoying the moment.

“Very glad to have had those experiences and it has kind of shaped the trajectory of my career in a way I didn’t anticipate,” she said. “I was very careful going into my big meets to not put too many expectations on myself. I am really thankful to enjoy it and hang out with my friends and have a fun time.”

Before traveling to Olomouc, Williamson had never been to eastern Europe. In addition to winning her races and achieving her international classification, she was delighted to participate with another American T34 racer, Jessica Bellefeuille. Williamson also competed favorably with up-and-comer Dutch racer Mensje Hoogervorst, edging her for first place in both the 100 and 400 meters.

That was merely the opening act for nationals at Icahn Stadium in New York City, where she tied the Americas record for the 800. But to get a sense of what it takes to do that, you must break down the race into its individual parts.

For example, a half-hour before the race, Williamson was in the call tent with her competitors, who she considers her friends. But simultaneously, “it’s a time to center myself and visualize how the race will go.”

Fast-forward to the starting line seconds before the starting gun is fired.

“Honestly, I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, and I run the whole race from the start, how I want my arms to feel going through,” she said. “The 800 is a two-command start … ‘On your mark,’ then you’ll hear the gun, but that’s like a lifetime.”

With multiple classifications competing in the 800, she couldn’t draft someone who isn’t in her T34 classification. 

No matter. As Mendoza implied, Williamson had her strategy worked out ahead of time. She knew she had to get to the 100-meter break line first and then hold on tight.

Once she crossed the finish line, she experienced pure joy.

“I immediately looked up at the clock to see what the time was because I wanted to see if I had broken the record and it was a little bit of, ‘Did I do it?’” she said. “It takes a couple of seconds for the actual time to be recorded. I didn’t realize I had tied it. I thought I was right under it.”

Now some might consider tying a record not quite as exciting as actually breaking it. Not Williamson, though.

“I’m more pleased I tied it,” she said with a laugh. “It’s very novel and it gives me something to aim for.”

She’s come a long way since taking up wheelchair racing four years ago. Back then, she was working long hours as a lab manager and was searching for an outlet to move her body. Her boss presented her with a flier about adaptive sports, which eventually connected her with Mendoza, the track coach at Texas Parasport, who immediately saw her potential.

“I remember seeing the brightness in her eyes once she jumped in a racing chair, and the enjoyment,” he said.

Hannah Dederick, a two-time Paralympian as a T54 racer, sees a bright future for her friend Williamson.

“I’m so excited,” Dederick said. “She wanted to try racing on the track, I think she’s also a great road racer, and she’d really do well on the track. She’s really developed a lot the past couple of years. 

“I think her joy as an athlete and her outlook as a racer will really bring a lot of perspective as an athlete competing at a high level.”

Now that July is in the rearview mirror, what’s next for Williamson? 

She’s going to take some time off to focus on school, family and life in general. She’ll pick back up this winter in preparation for the 2027 world championships.

Then the focus shifts to Los Angeles in 2028.

“It would be my first Paralympic Games,” she said, “plus it’s on home soil, so it would be an absolute honor.”

Gregg Voss is a journalist based in the Chicago suburbs who has been writing sports for newspapers and magazines for more than 20 years. He is a freelance contributor to usatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.