Daniel Romanchuk Focuses On More Than Just Winning As He Races Towards Paris Paralympics

Riding the satisfaction of second place finishes at the Boston and London marathons over consecutive weekends, Daniel Romanchuk is rounding into top form as he charges towards his third Paralympics this summer in Paris.

The 25-year-old Para athlete from Maryland will strive to add to his bronze medal from Tokyo when he lines up for the Paris 2024 Paralympic marathon on the closing day of the Games, Sept. 8. The visually-stimulating course will begin in Saint-Denis and finish at the Esplanade des lnvalides in the heart of the French capital.

“It will be a very technical course with a lot of turns and a few loops at the start keeping everyone very close,” Romanchuk tells Team USA. “Most technical courses tend to be more of group races with not much time for people to break away.

"You’ll have to accelerate and decelerate a lot more than on a straight course.

Queried as to whether the Parisien course will play to his advantage, Romanchuk admits: “Some parts maybe, some parts not so much.”

Romanchuk has thrived in the sport accelerating with his long and powerful arms – his wingspan measures 6’10”. His dedication is steadfast. However, he concedes that victory in Paris will be no cup of café au lait, especially considering the presence of Swiss “Silver Bullet” Marcel Hug.

“The T54 category has usually been very tight, but with Marcel’s new equipment it certainly has taken things to a new level,” Romanchuk says about his Swiss rival. “He has certainly been putting out some amazing performances.”

As the French racing expression goes: ‘sucer la roue’ (staying on the wheel of a competitor as they take the brunt of the headwind). It could be among Romanchuk’s tactics.

“As long as I give everything that I have, I’ll be happy with the results,” he says.

Romanchuk has been Team USA’s most prolific wheelchair marathoner in the T54 class over the past six years. His numerous accomplishments include winning twice on the historic Boston route, achieving a record-setting victory as the youngest New York City Marathon champion at age 19 in 2018 and then defending his title in 2019, and claiming a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Despite finishing runner-up in both Boston and London to Hug, Romanchuk was pleased with his performances. At the 128th Boston Marathon on April 14 – a race that he took top honors in 2019 and 2022 – Romanchuk clocked a personal best time of one hour, twenty minutes and 37 seconds. In London, Romanchuk and Hug led the way for the first half of the race, before the Swiss took over the second half to win by 31 seconds.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how both races went – I’ve taken a few notes to bring home and we’re prepping for Paris,” Romanchuk said.

He added: “I’ve been trying out some new equipment and still getting to know how to make it respond the way I want it to.”

Romanchuk has partnered with a high-tech, Florida-based wheelchair manufacturer named Top End, since 2018.

“We’re trying to develop equipment that is high performing, but also still affordable,” he says. “It’s been great to work with them, but it’s certainly a work in progress.”

Winning races is undoubtedly important to Romanchuk, however, not at all costs.

The investment associated with succeeding at the highest level of the sport has escalated exponentially.

Romanchuk has more magnanimous ambitions than just crossing the finish line first.

“Over the last few years, new equipment has come out from multiple people, but it’s very expensive,” he explains. “I know what the sport has meant for me and I want to help keep access as easy as possible for as many people as possible.

“Equipment and advances are kind of a double-edged sword. It allows for more innovation and more variety of disabilities to be involved in wheelchair racing, but what we have to be cautious of is it becoming too expensive and unattainable for certain groups.”

The versatile athlete looks forward to not only racing along the scenic streets of Paris, but also making his mark on the track. Events will be contested on a new surface prefabricated by the company Mondo and shaded in purple – all to be unveiled at the Stade de France.

Three years ago at the Tokyo Paralympics, Romanchuk struck gold in the 400m T54 class. He surged to a dramatic 0.01 second victory over Athiwat Paeng-Nuea of Thailand.

“I was expecting silver as Paeng-Nuea had a much faster time in the prelims, but I was always taught to push all the way through the finish line,” Romanchuk reveals. “That helped me get the gold medal.”

Asked about what it will take to defend his Paralympics title, the soft-spoken athlete says it’s too early to gauge.

“Right now, we’re just concentrating on marathons and road stuff, but it will certainly be interesting to see how the sprints go this year.”

Romanchuk took on a grueling schedule in Japan, competing in five events in total, finishing 4th in both the 800m and 5,000m, and 5th in the 1,500m. He also raced five events at his Paralympics debut in Rio 2016.

Strategizing with his coach Adam Bleakney, Romanchuk is considering a lighter work load in France.

“I might go for everything, but probably not,” he informs. “It’s been a busy schedule with prelims and finals in the past, so I might cut out an event or so. Hard to say where I am with certain events as I haven’t been to a fast track yet this year.”

Romanchuk is qualified for the marathon based upon his recent results, however his track events in Paris will further be determined at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in Miramar, Florida, July 18-20.

Romanchuk was born in Mount Airy, Maryland on August 3, 1998, with spina bifida, a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. Encouraged by his mother Kim, Daniel raced his first track meet at age six and before long, was setting age-group records and heading to national competitions.

Although his focus is on Paris, Romanchuk also plans to make more time to mentor the young Para athletes with the Bennett Blazers. The Baltimore-based adaptive sports program was instrumental in his earlier athletic development.

“I’m just trying to do what the older generation has done for mine,” Romanchuk says.

Romanchuk has also been involved with developing a new non-profit organization named ‘Wheels For Change.’

“The goal is to provide more access to both equipment and knowledge in wheelchair racing, both domestically and internationally,” Romanchuk explains.

“Domestically, it’s about supporting camps and clinics with knowledge and maybe some resources, and eventually having a short-term loan closet,” he says, about assisting prospective wheelchair racers attain suitable equipment.

“Internationally, we’ve started to work with a program in Ghana to send them equipment as well.”

Whether it be racing on the street or track, or assisting and enabling others to get up to speed in his growing sport, Romanchuk is leaving a grand legacy.

More medals in Paris will just make his countless hours of effort and unwavering commitment taste even sweeter than Crème Brûlée.