ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Most events at the Paralympic Games in Paris divide competitors by their impairments. But there's a track and field relay that does just the opposite. The universal relay requires teams to represent a variety of disabilities, from visual impairments to limb amputations. Here's Emily Chen-Newton with the story.
EMILY CHEN-NEWTON: Athletes make their way onto the warm-up track in Paris before their events at this month's Paralympics.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIR PUMP HISSING)
CHEN-NEWTON: Some carry their prosthetic running blades while others pump air into the tires of their racing wheelchairs. It's not unheard of to have different disabilities in one Paralympic event. But the universal relay, which debuted three years ago at the Tokyo Games, is the only race where diversity is mandated to this extent. Tatyana McFadden, a Paralympic wheelchair racer for the U.S., says this event is a clever alternative to losing relays altogether for athlete groups too small to justify their own relays. And she says...
TATYANA MCFADDEN: It also helps us to educate society about the different classifications relatively quickly.
CHEN-NEWTON: Classifications are how para-athletes are grouped. Each universal relay team must have an athlete from the visual impairment class, someone with a limb difference, a coordination impairment like cerebral palsy and a wheelchair racer. Each class corresponds to a number. And it's up to the coach - Team USA coach Joaquim Cruz in this case - to do the Paralympic math to form the team. He explains the severity of impairment, likewise represented in the numerical code, is also part of the equation.
JOAQUIM CRUZ: For example, I'm not allowed to run a 38 and a 54 and a 13 together (laughter) - very confusing. You have to really think hard and select the right athletes for the team.
CHEN-NEWTON: As the team's wheelchair athlete, McFadden races the final leg. But before she takes off, her teammate tags her. There's no baton. And in that exchange, they show off another element unique to this relay. They must match each other's paces, one on foot and one on wheels, accommodating the other's disabilities.
MCFADDEN: I have to match up to her top-end speed when she's coming in when - that we could make that perfect tag. So we're getting the best of her end speed. And by the time I do my acceleration, then I'm gone. Like, I just try to bring it home.
CHEN-NEWTON: And this year, if she brings it all the way home to the podium, McFadden will become one of the most decorated Paralympians ever. She says she hopes she's a role model for all young women in sports, not just those with disabilities.
MCFADDEN: I do believe that integration, playing sports together, is so important because I was segregated in high school when I wanted to be part of the track team. And so that's always been my mission, is to have athletes with disabilities be included with just ambulatory youth athletes because together, they can learn from each other.
CHEN-NEWTON: McFadden and her teammates, each with different strengths and weaknesses, will race in the Paralympic universal relay this Friday in Paris. For NPR News, I'm Emily Chen-Newton.
(SOUNDBITE OF LADY WRAY SONG, "HOLD ON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.