US athlete Susannah Scaroni competed in the Paralympic Games. She took home the gold in the women’s 5000-meter T54 competition at the Tokyo, Japan, Summer Paralympics in 2020. She additionally competed for the United States in the Summer Paralympics in 2012 and 2016. She is going to compete for the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
McFadden, Pike, Scaroni, and Romanchuk Become First Athletes Named to Team USA for Paralympic Games Paris 2024
Susannah Scaroni from Tekoa, Washington and Daniel Romanchuk from Mount Airy, Maryland were the second and third place finishers. This result secured their spot on the United States team for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.
Scaroni’s third place finish with a time of 1 hour, 48 minutes and 14 seconds made her one of the first four athletes to qualify for the U.S. team going to Paris 2024.
“I feel so great. I’m honored to make the team for USA and I’m really excited! We have an incredibly strong women’s field so I’m really excited for next year.”
Scaroni said.
Susannah Scaroni’s Age, Parents and Education
Susannah Scaroni was born on May 16, 1991, in the small town of Tekoa, Washington. She grew up around wheat fields and nature. Her mother Barbara, who worked as a forest ranger, made sure Susannah loved being outdoors.
Susannah’s parents are Warren and Barbara Scaroni. She has two brothers named Jesse and Chris, and one sister named Rose.
Susannah trains with the wheelchair racing team at the University of Illinois. She grew up in Tekoa, Washington and went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There she earned a master’s degree in nutritional science. Now she is a registered dietitian and still trains with the successful wheelchair athletics program at that university.
Susannah Scaroni is Happily Married
Susannah Scaroni is now married to Jacob Jarrett.
The two got married in the year 2021.
How Susannah Scaroni start the Marathon and Triathlon
After going to a small college in Montana, Scaroni moved to the University of Illinois to take part in wheelchair sports. The coach Adam Bleakney encouraged her. Scaroni liked the Illinois landscape, which was great for track and field training, especially for long-distance events.
When Scaroni was in the fourth grade and a patient at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Spokane, near her hometown of Tekoa, Washington, she learned about para-sports. A local wheelchair basketball team needed players, so she joined.
Scaroni started competing professionally in 2012 when she came second in the Chicago Marathon and eighth at the Summer Paralympic Games.
At the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, in June, Scaroni came second behind Amanda McGrory, who won silver in the 2008 Paralympic marathon. Scaroni’s time of 1:50:06 was good enough to qualify for her first Paralympic Games.
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The London Paralympic Games did not go well for Scaroni. The marathon, one of the last events, was held on an unusually hot day in London.
Scaroni wanted to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, so she put her goal of becoming a registered dietician aside for a while to focus on training and racing.
For the Rio Games, Scaroni qualified in the 800-meters and also competed in the marathon. She did not advance from the heats of the 800 and came seventh in the marathon, but she learned that developing a good sprint would be key to winning long races.
How Scaroni climbed to the top and Represented The US
In 2017, she had a very successful season with podium finishes at the Tokyo and Boston marathons. She also won her first NYRR event, the United Airlines NYC Half.
In 2018, she won the Peachtree Road Race wheelchair category in Atlanta, Georgia, with a time of 22:49.05.
2018 was fantastic for her. She came second at the Boston Marathon, Berlin Marathon, and United Airlines NYC Half. She finished third at the London Marathon. Scaroni won the AJC Peachtree Road Race and the first-ever wheelchair division of the Mini 10K.
In 2019, she competed at the World Para Athletics Championships, winning bronze medals in the women’s 5000m T54 and women’s 800m T54 events.
She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, which were postponed for a year due to the pandemic, Scaroni became a Paralympic champion by winning the 5000m (with McFadden coming third).
It was a surprise because it was her first race in two years, so she didn’t know how she compared to her competitors. With seven-and-a-half laps left, Scaroni moved ahead of the group. She thought she was just taking her turn at the front, but when she looked back, she had a gap. She crossed the finish line with an almost eight-second lead.
Her career has soared since then, with gold and bronze wins at the 2021 Paralympics and many first-place marathon wins worldwide, including the 2022 New York City Marathon and the 2023 Boston Marathon.
Susannah Scaroni’s Career after Accident in 2021
In 2021, a car hit Scaroni while she was training on a local road. The accident almost ended her career. Despite recovering from the accident and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, her career continues to grow. However, Scaroni says her proudest achievement is getting her Master’s degree in nutritional science from the University of Illinois. She believes excellent nutrition and the ability to focus well are keys to her success.
In 2022, she won the 2022 Open Women’s Division of the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division of the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta with a time of 21:14.71, setting a new course record.
In 2022, Susannah Scaroni won her first TCS New York City Marathon title, crossing the finish line in 1:42:43 to beat the previous course record of 1:43:04 set by Tatyana McFadden in 2015.
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In 2022, Scaroni won almost every race she entered, including the Chicago 13.1 (half marathon), New York Mini 10k, B.A.A. 10k in Boston, Grandma’s Marathon, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, and the Chicago and New York City Marathons. She finished second in the London Marathon and Oita International Wheelchair Marathon in Japan, and third in the Berlin Marathon.
In 2023, she continued winning, taking the Boston Marathon, her second United Airlines NYC Half, her fifth consecutive Mastercard New York Mini 10K, and a bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships.
She recently qualified for the 2024 Olympics after finishing third in 1:48.14, booking her spot for her fourth Paralympics. She also defended her Peachtree Road Race title after winning on July 4 and won a bronze medal in the women’s 5000m T54 race, matching her medal from 2019.
Now, with the Paris Olympics in sight, she is training very hard to win a medal in her fourth Olympics.
Susannah Scaroni Was Badly hurt in an Accident
When Susannah was five years old, she, her mother, and her brother were badly hurt in a car accident. Their car slid on black ice and crashed into a utility truck. This accident caused Susannah’s spinal cord to snap, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
As Susannah adjusted to life in a wheelchair, her family and community gave her support and encouragement. She stayed active outdoors and first tried wheelchair basketball before finding her calling in wheelchair track racing.
