★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, with a focus on American Paralympic stars. Opinions expressed are those of the USOPC. ★
The American duo finished first and second in the T38 100 m at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi
By Gregg Voss
Red Line Editorial
It would be understandable if Jaydin Blackwell and Ryan Medrano had a major rivalry with each another.
After all, the two U.S. sprinters regularly race against each other in the T38 classification at major track-and-field meets.
This year’s World Para Athletics Championships – held 27 September to 5 October in New Delhi (IND) – was no different. Blackwell broke his own world record in the 400 m in 48.00 and won gold in the 100 m in 10.70 (wind: -0.4 m/s), which set a championships record.
Medrano walked away with a silver medal in the 100, finishing in 10.90 seconds. He also took fourth in the 400 (50.09) and finished fifth in the T38 long jump (6.40 m/21-0) at worlds.
The constant battles between the two sprinters with cerebral palsy only pushes them both to get better.
“Like always, we both push ourselves to be the best competitors we can be, and we push each other to a higher level and go beyond our limits,” Blackwell, 21, said of Medrano, 28. “He’s as a fun guy to be around and fun person to run against.”
The feeling is mutual for Medrano.
“Jaydin and I have a very wholesome rivalry,” Medrano said. “We push each other to be better. We’ve been roommates previously. He’s the fastest in the world. You want to have people around you to make you better. It doesn’t happen with just me. As the field of T38s get faster, I have to get faster.
“Jaydin is someone I consider a friend.”
The friends both began competing internationally in 2023, and they have each appeared in three world championships already. Ever since Blackwell emerged on the Para track scene, he’s dominated the T38 class by winning gold in the 100 and 400 at the past three world championships. That consistency carried into Paris last summer during his Paralympic debut, as the Oak Park, Michigan, native took home gold in both events as well.
Medrano has been right behind Blackwell at many of those races. He won his first worlds medal last year in Kobe, Japan, taking silver in the 400. The Savannah, Georgia, native then won silver in both the 100 and 400 at the Paralympics last summer.
Their career timelines have matched up almost exactly, and they’ve each been able to win significant hardware already. When it comes to their preparation before a race, though, the similarities end.
“I just put my headphones on and get all my preparations in,” Blackwell said, “do my general warmups, and when it’s time, I just focus and don’t talk to anybody. Just lock in and focus.”
Keeping to himself before races may stem from Blackwell training alone in Michigan when he’s not competing.
“He’s focused and he doesn’t complain,” Fred George, Blackwell’s coach, said. “He trains by himself, and he adapts well to the knowledge you pass on to him.”
Meanwhile, Medrano engages with other competitors before the starting gun.
“I was talking with the volunteers, asking questions. Even the guy from Colombia was doing a song and dance, and I was loose myself,” Medrano said. “I’m very empathetic. I do a good job of connecting with another human. Instead of closing myself off, my coach was like, ‘Be yourself, dude, and trust in the process.'”
Medrano is only a few years into long-jump competition and is fifth in the world. He’s currently working on his takeoff, and his goal is always to take his time and try to enjoy it.
“I approach it with speed,” he said. “It is different than the 100 and 400. In long jump you have up to six attempts to get on the runway and get the crowd into it. It’s definitely a learned event.”
As for Blackwell, he’s clear on how he keeps himself motivated when he’s the odds-on favorite to win every race: family, friends and coaches like George.
“(They) help me out along the way,” he said. “They give me the strength to keep going. I want to push past my own limits every time, at practice or at a competition.”
Both Blackwell and Medrano have specific goals about what they want to accomplish going forward.
“My goals are to just keep doing what I’ve been doing since the start, keep breaking the world records and championship records,” Blackwell said. “If I don’t one time, then I have to go back to the drawing board.”
George said track-wise, Blackwell’s future is so bright he’ll have to wear shades. Maybe not during competitions, but you get the point.
Medrano, whose coach is Californian Kris Mack, said his approach is as physical as it is mental when it comes to his goals.
“I’m twice the size of everybody else, so my goal is to slim down and focus on the races I want to compete in,” he said, “working on things to complement when I get back into the season. I don’t want to be one of those athletes who didn’t train in the offseason. Being consistent and working on my knowledge of the sport.”
When it comes to their counsel to other athletes, both Para and able-bodied, Blackwell and Medrano’s advice is similar.
“Number one, don’t let other people tell you what you can and cannot do,” Blackwell said. “The only thing that sets you back is your mindset. And number two, just because something is hard doesn’t mean you should ignore it.”
In terms of the latter part of that advice, Blackwell can prove that he follows it himself. Despite being the world-record holder in the event, Blackwell hates the 400, calling it “one of the most gruesome events in track and field.” But that doesn’t stop him from continuing to set records at that distance.
Medrano said the bigger picture is more than just training.
“You have to build a community of people that will help keep you accountable,” he said. “Motivation isn’t always there, so you have to hold yourself accountable in training, sleep and recovery. Create that environment for yourself. Find that coach.”
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 Team USA on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
For more, please visit the USOPC Paralympic Educational Hub.
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