Brightest stars: Six area track and field athletes ready to shine in City of Light as 2024 Paralympics prepare to begin in Paris

Hannah Dederick might not be the loudest member of the United States Paralympic team – she’d rather let her racing do the talking.

And she plans on being loud with it over the next few weeks.

Dederick, who was raised in Mead and attended Central Valley High School, is one of six track and field athletes with area ties competing for the U.S. in the 2024 Paralympic Games, which begin Wednesday in Paris.

“I look back and I’m starting to see how much I have changed in the past few years as a racer and a person,” Dederick said.

“My confidence is at a new level and I’m hoping that shows in Paris.”

Dederick attends the University of Illinois, one of the most prestigious wheelchair racing schools in the country, and will be making her second Paralympic appearance.

The 21-year-old will compete in the T54 100 meters, 400 and 800 with finals taking place on Sept. 4, Sept. 5 and Sept. 1, respectively.

Three years ago at the Tokyo games, Dederick finished fourth in the 100 and 10th in the 400, gaining valuable experience while barely missing out on a first podium.

“It was so different with Tokyo because I was still living in Spokane and just finished high school,” Dederick said. “But now I have been in Illinois and training with this team, so I feel like my knowledge and body is so much stronger now.”

But the fast and furious Dederick who speeds around her competition on the track, gives way to a more mild-mannered athlete off the racing chair.

Few people have seen that change more closely than Paralympic champion and Dederick’s summer roommate, Susannah Scaroni.

Scaroni, who is from Tekoa, Washington, and also attended the University of Illinois, lives with her husband in Champaign, Illinois, and opened their door to Dederick in the month between the U.S. Trials and the Paralympics so that the pair could do everything together from train to cook and even strategize.

“Three years ago when Hannah moved out here she was so shy and quiet, but her talent was undeniable,” Scaroni said. “Now what I get the chance to see is a more confident Hannah off the track and that translates to her abilities and skills on the track only improving.”

Dederick knows that earning her first medal will not come easy, but fighting is something she is used to.

Abandoned as a baby on the steps of a hospital in Suzhou, China, after being born with spina bifida, Hannah was adopted by Lori and Don Dederick in 2006 when Hannah was 3 years old. She lived for several years in Alabama, before moving to Spokane in 2012.

Dederick was introduced to adapted sports through Shriners Hospital and began her racing career in 2015 with the help of ParaSport Spokane and its executive director, Teresa Skinner.

“It’s night and day from when I first met Hannah to the woman she is now,” Skinner said.

“From that little kid that I almost had to kind of bribe to get her to go have a conversation or even engage with her teammates, and now I can just call her up and we’ll be on the phone forever just talking about anything and everything.

“It’s been a joy to watch her grow and mature.”

The teacher

There is one common bond between the area track and field athletes getting ready to compete in Paris – the presence and impact that Skinner and the ParaSport Spokane program have had in their lives.

And just like every games since Beijing in 2008, Skinner will not only be watching the athletes compete, but she also will be down on the track and in the village as one of the wheelchair racing coaches for the United States.

As a wheelchair coach, Skinner will work directly with Dederick, Scaroni and Lauren Fields – who is competing in the T34 100 and 800. She will also be keeping close tabs on ParaSport’s other trio of Taylor Swanson (T37 100, 200), Lindi Marcusen (T63 100, long jump) and Jaleen Roberts (T37 100, long jump).

“They’ve talked about having a fair bit of nerves and excitement, while also being so honored to be a part of this team,” Skinner said of first-time Paralympians Fields, Marcusen and Swanson. “I truly think that all six of these women have the potential to end up on the podium if they can put it all together and block out the noise.”

Noise will be the key difference for all of the athletes besides Scaroni. While Roberts and Dederick are in their second Paralympics, the 2021 games in Tokyo were held mostly without crowds due to the surging coronavirus pandemic.

“I cross my fingers that Paris comes out and puts on a great show for these athletes and makes it pretty loud in that stadium,” Skinner said. “We’ve talked that it’s going to get loud and they’ll have to either tune that out of its distracting or they’ll have to embrace it and let it give them the energy they need.”

No matter the results, Skinner takes deep pride in the hard work and determination each of the six athletes have shown in making it to the highest stage.

“To represent the United States, their communities, their families and this program is just so amazing and they’re all such incredible women,” Skinner said. “I wish more people had the opportunity to really know them. Not just for how extremely talented they are on the track, but for how talented they are just as humans.”

Finish line unknown

Scaroni isn’t thinking about retirement – at least she’s not letting herself think about it over the coming weeks in Paris.

Instead, she wants to be one of the brightest stars.

Scaroni enters the games as one of the most decorated female wheelchair racers over the past few years, a stretch that began with her convincing victory in the 5,000 final in Tokyo to win her first Paralympic gold medal. She added a bronze later in those games in the 800 and a sixth-place finish in the marathon. She has also racked up wins in the Chicago, New York and Boston marathons between 2022 and 2023 and recently set the 5,000 world record in Switzerland.

But in Paris, Scaroni will face a gantlet of four events in nine days. She will look to defend her gold in the 5,000 on Saturday, followed by the 800 on Sept. 1, the 1,500 prelims and final on Sept. 2 and 3, respectively, and finally the marathon on Sept. 8.

“I can say right now that every race is a very tight field and there won’t really be favorites in a lot of the races, because the level of competition is so high,” Scaroni said. “But that’s what I like, because this level of racing is so much fun.”

Now in her fourth Paralympic games, Scaroni not only has high expectations for herself, but also is enjoying her role as a mentor to younger racers and wanting them to succeed.

“I’ve really loved getting to see the perspective from newer racers on how exciting this process can be that I kind of take for granted now,” Scaroni said. “But I also get to share some of the nuggets I’ve learned from three past games with people like Hannah and some of the other teammates.”

She’s also getting used to her new role in the spotlight, as she has been at the center of several advertising campaigns for the games on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock and featured heavily on the U.S. Paralympic team’s social media pages. Peacock will stream every event from the Paralympics, while the NBC family of networks will also air coverage throughout the 12 days.

“It’s been a different experience this time knowing that I am more in the center of things,” Scaroni said. “I’ve been trying to be more actively relaxed and focus on racing, but it’s also been nice to be part of the representation of the games.”

At 33 years old, Scaroni knows there is still plenty of tread on the tires – but as she battles her body, Paris is the golden opportunity to not only prove to herself what she is capable of against the world’s best, but also leave a lasting legacy for those just now starting their journey.

“I am closer to knowing what my future holds, but it’s still unknown,” Scaroni said. “I want to see how my joints and my shoulder hold up, but I decided that I’m not going into Paris treating it like it’s my last Paralympics.

“But I am really going to soak in this whole experience and make sure to put my best out there for myself and for this team.”

The 2024 Paralympic games begin with opening ceremonies Wednesday and end with closing ceremonies on Sept. 8.

Para Athletics events take place Friday through Sept. 8 with finals taking place each day.