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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.