Now A Paralympic Hopeful, Jacob Allen First Tried Wheelchair Racing Out Of Necessity

Soon after moving to the United States at age 15, Jacob Allen learned that he needed to play either a sport or a musical instrument at his high school in Texas.

Picking an extracurricular activity wasn’t so easy for him, though.

Allen, who was adopted from Ukraine in 2016, didn’t have the time to learn how to play the guitar. He also knew football or baseball wouldn’t be an option for him since his legs were crooked when he was born, forcing him to use a wheelchair.

One of his mother’s coworkers asked if she had ever heard of adaptive sports. She hadn’t, so she sat down with Allen that night and they started researching some options.

“We’re Googling, and you find wheelchair track. I saw the pictures. I watched some videos,” said Allen, who’s now 25. “I was like ‘Oh wow, that’s pretty cool. It looks like a bicycle. You just push with your hands instead of pedaling.’”

A decade later, wheelchair racing has become like a full-time job for Allen, who moved to the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in California earlier this year to dedicate more time to trainings.

Prior to the move, Allen earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona and competed for the school’s adaptive track program before he graduated last year with a bachelor’s degree in Russian and Slavic studies.

On top of racing on the track, Allen has completed the Boston and New York City Marathons on several occasions. One of his next goals is to qualify for the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028, but first he traveled to New York for the USA Track & Field Outdoor & Para National Championships in late July. 

Allen competed in five events at nationals, earning sixth-place finishes in the 100-, 400- and 1,500-meter T53/T54.

“The fact that people believe in me and they want to see me at the Paralympics, they just motivate me so much that I’m like, ‘I cannot give up right now.’ It (would) betray their beliefs,” Allen said. “I just can’t quit, and I enjoy it so much that I want to make it to the Paralympics. I want to show that their motivation, their belief in me was worth it.”

Allen often gets nervous before a big race, but he proved to himself at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on June 14 that he can compete against some of the top wheelchair racers in the country.

Allen just missed out on winning the 100-meter at the meet. He finished in second place at 15.76 seconds, only .25 seconds behind fellow Paralympic hopeful Miguel Jimenez-Vergara’s time of 15.51. He also took second in the 400 meters at 52.73 seconds, exactly two seconds behind Jimenez-Vergara.

“Look. You’re racing with the best people in your country. It means you’re improving, right?” Allen said. “I’m reaching my goals. I’m getting closer, and it’s great because the more I race with stronger people, the stronger I get.”

Allen grew up in a Ukrainian orphanage and shared a big bedroom that had around six beds in it. He formed a close bond with some of the other boys at the orphanage, and he admitted it was difficult to leave them and start a new life in Texas.

“But somewhere deep in my head, I was like ‘You know, it will be better for me. It’s more opportunities, and if I get better and have these chances, maybe I’ll be good enough to provide help to other people in Ukraine,’” he said.

Allen estimated he has had more than 30 surgeries on the same leg to try to straighten it, but it didn’t fix the problem. After arriving in the U.S., he made the decision to get his left leg amputated below the knee. He can now walk with a prosthetic leg.

Allen’s journey from Ukraine to racing is similar to the one that Oksana Masters — the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time and a 24-time Paralympic medalist in Nordic skiing, cycling and rowing — took several years before him.

Like Allen, Masters was raised in a Ukrainian orphanage before getting adopted and moving to the U.S. After she arrived, she also needed medical procedures to correct lingering issues with her legs. She had both of her legs amputated and now races in a chair but walks with prosthetic legs.

Allen and Masters have become good friends.

Allen said Masters was excited to tell him that she was also born in Ukraine the first time they met. Since she’s engaged to eight-time Paralympian Aaron Pike, who also competes in wheelchair racing, Masters often sees Allen at the same events.

“I see (Pike) a lot with track meets, road races, and sometimes when they are traveling together, we can find a spot where we can go get lunch, talk,” Allen said. “Of course, I have to bring Ukrainian chocolate. I also love it.”

When Allen started competing in wheelchair racing in high school, he admitted he enjoyed going to a track meet and winning medals. He then wanted to earn more medals like his father, who has run marathons.

“He has a lot of medals, and by seeing that, I was like ‘You know, I want to have more medals than my dad, even though he’s run for like 20-something years, maybe 30.’ And I was like ‘That’s my goal.’”

He’s off to a good start.

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to usatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.