Eight years after winning her first Paralympic gold medal at the Rio Games, Grace Norman stood atop the medal stand again on Monday. She won the Paris triathlon — consisting of a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5,000-meter run — in 1:04:40, beating Great Britain’s Claire Cashmore by 1 minute, 15 seconds.
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BACK ON TOP! 🥇
Grace Norman is filled with emotion after becoming a two-time Paralympic champion, claiming the title in the women's PTS5.
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“I tried to keep my cool for most of the run until the last lap when I knew I had it,” she said after the race. “I started picking out my family, my husband, my coaches, and when I went by, I gave them a little smile. Having these people here, whom I didn’t have in Tokyo (at the 2021 Paralympics), meant the world to me as I crossed the finish line. It’s incredible.”
It was Norman’s fourth Paralympic medal in total. In addition to her triathlon gold in 2016 — when she was 18 — she also picked up a bronze medal in the 400 meters in Rio. Three years ago in Tokyo, she was the triathlon silver medalist.
Speaking after Monday’s race, Norman discussed the key role her strong faith in God played in helping her persevere through adversity and become a gold medalist again.
“Oh, man, I am overjoyed,” she said through tears. “It was a really hard year to get here with a lot of injuries. It was all God out there.”
In an Instagram post celebrating her victory, Norman called it an “unbelievably special moment” and gave thanks to God.
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Norman was born without a left foot due to a condition known as amniotic band syndrome and had her left leg below the knee, as well as her right big toe, amputated when she was young. She played a variety of sports growing up and was drawn to the triathlon because it offered three athletic pursuits wrapped into one. Running is her specialty, and she was a four-time National Christian College Athletic Association All-American during her collegiate career at Cedarville University, a Baptist university in Norman’s home state of Ohio.
She came on the Sports Spectrum Podcast just before the Tokyo Paralympics to discuss her faith journey, her athletic career and what it was like starting college right after winning a gold medal. Norman said on the podcast that she did not feel close to God at times during her final two years in college as she assumed more of a leadership role.
She graduated with a nursing degree in 2020 and reconnected with the Lord in the midst of the pandemic.
“It wasn’t until, I think, really after I graduated just this past year, God really came back into my life, kind of full force, showing me how important it is to trust in His timing and in His process,” she said on the podcast in 2021.
Just 26 years old, Norman has every opportunity to compete in Los Angeles in 2028 and attempt to collect a third gold medal. She also has aspirations of serving others through her nursing degree.
Whatever comes next, Norman is trusting in the plan God has for her.
“He has everything planned out in His timing and His will,” she said on the podcast. “The best I can do is glorify Him, use His gifts to [perform to] the best of my ability and spread His love and His message.”
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