Cedars, October 2020

Fall 2020 26 CEDARVILLE ALUM 2021 PARA By Tim Smith T he year is 2016. The location? Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The oc- casion? The 2016 Paralympics. For runner Grace Norman, this was the moment she had been working toward. Norman lost her left leg at birth after being diagnosed with con- genital constriction band syndrome. After years and years of adversity and training, the time had come for Norman to shine, and it was up to her to take advantage of the opportunity. And take advantage she did, earning the gold medal in the triathlon. Norman’s path to success started long before this fateful day, and the process had taken her to a small Christian school in the cornfields of Ohio, a school that would be fundamental in her training both physically and spiritually: Cedarville University. Choosing Cedarville When it came time to start looking at colleges, Norman did not have a plethora of options. “Cedarville was really my only option when it came to colleges,” Norman said. But despite being her only choice, Cedarville was not devoid of connections for Norman. In fact, that was the one thing she did have an abundance of when it came to the university. “My dad, Tim Norman, is a professor [at Cedarville] and I had grown up around the school,” Norman said. “My older sister Bethany also attended and ran for the Jackets.” Cedarville did not only offer familial ties, though. The university also aligned with the desires she had for her future — academically and athletically. “I was majoring in nursing and Cedarville has an outstanding nursing program that I wanted to be a part of,” said the Cedarville alumna. “I wanted to run in college, as I had seen success in high school and wanted to continue on to a collegiate career. I saw that Cedarville had a really strong women’s distance team for both track and cross country and thought it would be a great fit.” Training the Body is of Some Importance Norman’s training at Cedarville was the springboard she needed to bridge the gap between being a strong runner and a Paralympic gold medalist. “Running in college at Cedarville kept my racing and competitive edge all year around and gave me more racing experience,” she said. “It definitely helped me develop into a stronger and more mature athlete.” The experience of running for the Yellow Jackets helped Norman improve her physical performance, but it also improved her mental performance while racing. Running in a collegiate meet compared to running inaprofessional event is drasticallydifferent, but the experience gained is vital for mental preparation at the professional level. “This helped me come to the triathlon and the Paralympics Provided by Delly Carr / ITU Media