Updated 9/16: Deja Young won a gold medal in the 200 meter event at 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, bringing her count to two.
Original story:
A sprinter from Wichita State University won the Gold Medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. She was running in the 100 meters division.
From Wichita State Athletics:
Wichita State junior Deja Young won the Gold Medal in the T47 100 meters with a time of 12.15 at the 2016 Paralympic Games Sunday afternoon.
Cuba's Yunidis Castillo, who had been Young's closest competitor, pulled up early in the race and finished in a slow thoughtful walk. Poland's Alicja Fiodorow took the Silver Medal in a time of 12.46, while Brazil's Teresinha de Jesus Correia Santos was the Bronzel Medal winner with a time of 12.84.
On Saturday, Young won her heat and finished preliminary competition with the fastest time of 12.12 in the T47 100 meters, edging edged Castillo, who ran the heat in 12.13.
Young will also compete in the T47 200 meter preliminary at 4:33 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15. The 200 meter final is set for 9:27 a.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Times are subject to change.
The Wichita State All-American still holds the American Record in the T47 classification, which is also a World Best time (11.92), which she ran at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Championship in Normal, Ill.
Young earned All-American honors as a freshman member of the Shockers' 2015 4x100 meter relay team that finished 16th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and also holds the WSU 4x100 meter relay record (44.30).
She is one of 47 athletes (30 male, 17 female), including four guides, that were named to the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Team in July following the Team Trials. She was named to the U.S. National Team in January.
A relative newcomer to Paralympic competition, the junior from Mesquite, Texas, made a name for herself in Doha, Qatar, at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, winning the Gold Medal in the T47 100 meters in a time of 12.69. It was her second medal in the games as she won the Silver Medal in the T47 200 meters in a time of 25.08.
Young earned a spot on the 2015 team after winning the 100 meter dash at the 2015 United States Paralympics June 20, 2015, in Minneapolis, Minn., in a time of 12.26. Her time, in addition to running a 25.08 in the 200 meters, qualified her for the World Championships in Qatar, her first international competition.
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