But competing at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, that June, Scaroni finished second behind 2008 Paralympic marathon silver medalist Amanda McGrory. Even better, Scaroni’s time of 1:50:06 was fast enough to qualify for her first Paralympic Games.

The London Paralympic Games did not go as Scaroni had hoped. One of the final competitions of those Games, the marathon was held on an unseasonably hot day in London. She did not drink enough and wilted in the heat. But she was motivated by her family cheering (it was her mom’s first trip overseas) and the fact that she was competing for her country at the Paralympic Games. She crossed the finish line in eighth place.

Scaroni returned to UIUC and graduated in 2014 with a degree in food science and human nutrition. Eager to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Scaroni decided to put her goal of becoming a registered dietician on the backburner while she focused on training and racing.

For the Rio Games, Scaroni qualified in the 800-meters, and she also competed in the marathon. Although she did not move beyond the heats of the 800 and came in seventh in the marathon, she learned from the experience: the key to making the podium in long races would be developing a good sprint.

The following year, Scaroni enrolled in a UIUC master’s program in nutrition science and exercise physiology. Over the next six years, she balanced training with school — finishing a full-time year-long dietitian internship in November 2022, earning her master’s degree in December, and passing her registered dietician exam in March 2023.

During that time, Scaroni was equally successful on the road, racing marathons all over the world — London, Tokyo, Boston, New York, Chicago — and finishing on the podium in most of them. But it was the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic that helped her achieve the top step on the podium. Scaroni loves to train but not so much the travel side of racing. With no races and no travel for two years, she used the time to work on sprinting, as well as tweaking her equipment and zeroing in on an ideal seating position.

At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo — postponed a year because of the pandemic — Scaroni became a Paralympic champion, winning the 5000 (with McFadden in third).

“That was one of my best races,” Scaroni said. “And it was also a shocker.”

A shocker because it was her first race in two years, so she did not know where she stacked up against her competition. With seven-and-a-half laps to go, Scaroni rode off the front of the group. She thought she was simply taking her turn at the front of the pack, but when she looked back, she had a gap. She crossed the finish line with an almost-eight-second lead.

Later in the 2020 Games, Scaroni earned a bronze medal in the 800 and finished sixth in the marathon.

Susannah Scaroni Secures Team USA's First Medal of 2023 World Para Athletic Championships

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