Where to Watch: 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials - Track and Field

Team USA holds the all-time medal record in both summer and winter Paralympics history, and will be looking to add to their summer medal totals at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024. The event will take place shortly after the Olympics, from Aug. 28 - Sept. 8. However, the first step towards that goal will be making the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team for Paris. While some U.S. Paralympic teams and athletes have already claimed their spot, American Paralympic track and field athletes are prepping for their biggest non-Paralympic Games event of the quad – trials. Over the course of three days, a mix of established U.S. Paralympic track and field stars and newcomers will battle it out for a coveted roster spot for the Paris Games.

Making the U.S. Paralympic team for Paris is all about rankings and these trials. The better an athlete finishes, the more likely they will be nominated and selected to fill an available roster spot on the Paralympic team.

Procedures to qualify for trials are similar to other large-team trials. An athlete must meet a “Trials Entry Standard” time in their event while competing at a “qualifying event.” The event must use electronic timing and wind gauges as outlined in World Para Athletics’ (WPA) rulebook. A few examples include an NCAA/NAIA Championship, a WPA competition and state high school meets.

Countries are allocated a maximum of 40 roster spots for male athletes and 33 roster spots for female athletes. A country can enter a maximum of three athletes per individual medal event, one relay team, and up to six athletes for a marathon medal event. A full breakdown of the selection procedures for both track & field and marathon can be found here.

Below are a few storylines for fans to follow while watching these trials:

While Nick Mayhugh, Ezra Frech, Brittni Mason, Lex Gillette, Hannah Dederick, Trenten Merrill and Roger Townsend may not be as well-known as Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson and Ryan Crouser in the public eye, they deserve equal recognition. The aforementioned athletes, along with several others, will look to make another U.S. Paralympic Team come July. Look for Mayhugh and Mason to be frontrunners in their respective 100-meter and 200-meter events. The duo teamed up with other Para track veterans Tatyana McFadden and Noah Malone for gold and a new world record in the mixed 4x100m universal relay at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Mayhugh also holds two individual world records in the 100- and 200-meter T37 events.

Meanwhile, Frech, who primarily competes in the T63 high jump and long jump, is looking to avenge his 5th-place finish in the high jump in Tokyo. Since then, he has kept the winners’ podium photo as his phone background in an effort to motivate himself up to this moment. That photo also includes Frech's teammate, Sam Grewe, who secured the gold that day in Tokyo. Grewe will be among Frech's top competitors at this year's trials.

Townsend also competes in the high jump and long jump, but in a different classification than Frech (T47). The California native already has three Paralympic golds, a Paralympic silver and a world record to his name. But, he’s looking for more as he hopes to make his third Paralympic team.

Others to watch include Merrill, who is the frontrunner in the T64 long jump event, and Hunter Woodhall, who could excel in the middle-distance races. Woodhall and his wife, Olympian and world championship medalist Tara Davis, are very active on social media and chronicle their lives as an athlete “power couple.”

The veterans mentioned above won’t be the only stars in Miramar during trials. Several young faces coming off spectacular showings at the last two World Para Athletics Championships will look to put the country on notice in their respective events:

• Jaydin Blackwell – 20-year-old Jaydin Blackwell made his international debut at the 2023 world championships and immediately put the world on notice. Showing range, the Michigan native secured gold medals in both the 100m and 400m T38 events, and is the frontrunner to secure a Paris roster spot come July.

• Samantha “Sam” Heyison – A rising star, Sam Heyison is in the running to make her first-ever Paralympic team in the shot-put F64 classification. Like several U.S. Para track athletes, the 18-year-old freshman competes at the Division I level in the NCAA, representing Wake Forest University. She won the title of U.S. Paralympic Track & Field High School Athlete of the Year twice during her high-school career, and recently earned international attention after securing a bronze medal at the 2023 world championships.

• Ryan Medrano – After playing alongside Paralympian Noelle Lambert on CBS’ popular reality show, Survivor, Lambert suggested the 26-year-old Medrano try Para track and field. His decision to follow Lambert's advice is already paying dividends, as he claimed gold at the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023 in the men’s 400-meter T38 event. Now, the Savannah, Georgia, native looks to follow in his mentor’s footsteps and make his first-ever Paralympic Games.

• Noelle Malkamaki – Malkamaki’s ascension to shot-put stardom has been rapid and well-deserved. An NCAA Division I athlete at DePaul University, the Illinois native won gold and set a new world record in the F46 classification at the 2023 world championships. After heaving that record-setting 13.32-meter throw, Malkamaki now has her eye on Paralympic gold.

No U.S. Paralympic track and field trials would be complete without the inclusion of several legends of the sport. Daniel Romanchuk, Tatyana McFadden and Susannah Scaroni have all secured spots for Paris in the marathon already. But now, they’ll look to claim a roster spot for other events, such as the 800m and 5000m wheelchair races. McFadden is a six-time Paralympian and 20-time Paralympic medalist, and has used her platform to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities (See: Tatyana’s Law).

Meanwhile, Romanchuk will be attending his third consecutive Paralympic Games, and is always a threat in the men's 800m T54 race, and Scaroni is the reigning Paralympic champion in the women’s 5000m T54 event. She is in a fantastic spot to land a chance to claim back-to-back golds.