by SAINT-DENIS, France—After returning home without a medal at his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo and finishing fifth in the long jump on Saturday, Ezra Frech can finally call himself a Paralympic gold medalist.
The 19-year-old entered the Stade de France on Monday knowing he could win the T63 100m race, but not expecting to.
He said he was shocked by the results after the race when he saw he had run a personal best time of 12.06 seconds.
“Believe me, when you walk into a stadium with 70,000 people, people tense up,” Frech said. “Everybody gets choked up, they get nervous, they don’t know what to do. The lights are a little too bright, but they’re never too bright for me.”
Frech, who is primarily a jumper, had planned to use the 100m as a warm-up for the T63 high jump final on Tuesday. But at the 50-metre mark he realised he was really going to win and crossed the line in a personal best time.
Frech still has his signature event ahead of him: the men’s T63 high jump, scheduled for Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. EST.
“This is a very special opportunity for Paralympic sports as a whole,” said Frech. “I think what these Games bring to the movement is unprecedented. The energy and atmosphere reminds me a lot of London 2012. I can’t wait to take this momentum to Los Angeles, but for now I’m happy with the gold, but I’m definitely not satisfied. I’m still hungry and tomorrow night I’ll get gold in the high jump.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ezra Frech wins Paralympic gold, sees Paris’ energy surge
