Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2016

28 | Cedarville Magazine Paralympic Gold Medalist Testifies to God’s Amazing Grace by Clem Boyd Grace Norman ’20 headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September for the international Paralympic Games and came back a gold medalist. Norman brought home the gold in the PT4 Triathlon, which she won September 11, and earned a bronze medal the following day in the 400-meter sprint, finishing in 1:01.83. The Paralympics victories capped off a tremendous year for the Cedarville freshman, who also won the International Triathlon Union World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, this year. To win Paralympic gold, Norman swam 750 meters, biked 22 kilometers (about 13.5 miles), and ran 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), in a time of 1:10:39. Norman, a two-time winner of the USA Paratriathlon National Championships, will run for the Yellow Jackets this winter and spring. She was a prep star for Xenia Christian High School (XCHS), making it to state twice in the 1,600 meters, placing eighth (5:14.09) as a junior and ninth (5:14.46) during her senior year. She also ran with the XCHS 4x800-meter relay team that placed sixth in the 2016 state meet with a time of 9:42.53. She is slated to run for the Yellow Jackets women’s cross country team next fall. Norman, a nursing student, holds two world records in the Paralympic T44 classification in track and field. She is the current record holder in the 800 meter with a 2:22.28 and the 1,500 with a 4:52.16. Norman is the American record holder in the 400 (1:01.83), 800, 1,500, and 3,200 (11:47.53). While her previous achievements and accolades would be heady stuff for any athlete, getting to compete, and then succeed, in Rio was beyond memorable. “It was the biggest stage I’ve been on in my sports competitions,” Norman said. “Whether it’s high school or the Paralympics, I still get nervous for both. But winning the gold in Rio was a bigger accomplishment because of the long training process, and just how big the stage was.” According to Norman, the streets in Copacabana were lined with fans from all over the world during her triathlon competition, cheering her regardless their home country. “But it was very nice to see my fans and people from my team cheering really loudly, too,” she added. Norman’s dad, Timothy, is a Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Cedarville and an Ironman competitor, while her mom, Robin, a former distance runner at Purdue University, coaches cross country for the former XCHS, now called Legacy Christian Academy (LCA). “They have been very instrumental in my athletic career,” Norman said. “They were coaches of mine throughout high school, and to see me run in college and fulfill those goals, they are so very proud of that. Plus, they will have two of their daughters running for the same school. They think that’s cool.” Grace Norman ’20 with her parents, Tim and Robin Norman.