FISHERS, Ind. — Indiana athletes are adding to the Team USA medal count in the first few days of the Paralympic Games.
Friday morning in Paris, 22-year-old Noah Malone, of Fishers, was the fastest qualifier in the T-12 100-meter semifinal. He'll run for the gold medal in the final Saturday afternoon.
Before he headed to Paris, he spoke with 13Sunrise anchor Jalea Brooks at his alma mater, Hamilton Southeastern High School.
"I broke a couple school records here freshman year," Malone said walking the track at HSE, "and became state champion junior year, so I couldn't really ask for a better high school career."
He not only broke records at HSE, but barriers at the collegiate level, too, as an Indiana State Sycamore.
Noah's progressive vision loss started when he was 13.
"So I have a condition called Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy," Malone said. "So what that does is take away my central vision and leaves me with my peripheral vision, so small detailed things on the track, or anything like that, it may be kind of hard for me to see, but everything else, thankfully I have enough vision to see the lanes and when to turn and things like that."
In Paris, he's running in the T-12 class alongside other visually impaired athletes as a now-two-time Paralympian. In his debut in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, Malone earned a gold medal with his USA teammates in 4x100 medley mixed relay. He broke an American record in qualifying for the 100-meter final, where he went on to win silver, and another silver in the 400-meter race.
"Just to be able to still do what I do, even with a disability, at such a high level internationally in front of the whole world, that's kind of the best feeling," Malone said proudly.
This year, he'll have his family cheering him to victory in the City of Light, after having no spectators in Tokyo.
"That's my biggest support system. They've been with me since day one. They've been at every meet, this is my biggest one," Malone said. "The energy is going to be out of the roof."
In addition to his faithful family fanbase, Malone is excited to welcome new fans to the Paralympic Games that may be watching for the first time.
"I do feel like the Para world and Paralympics get bigger and bigger every time, so there's a lot of underrated talent," Malone said.
Malone will compete in the 400-meter - T12 semifinal at 6:36 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 4. If he advances, the final is scheduled for 4:08 a.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 5.
Malone could be chosen as one of the members of the 4x100-meter universal relay team. Round 1 is scheduled for 6:50 a.m. ET Friday, Sept. 6, with the final scheduled at 2:42 p.m. ET that same day.
You can watch Malone run for the gold on Peacock.
