Santiago Parapan American Games!

Spokane athletes have seen great success at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago Chile over the past 5 days. As they return home, two other athletes are heading to Thailand for the World Ability Sport Games!

The three current ParaSport Spokane and two alumni athletes collected 12 medals in the Para Track and Field competition Santiago.

A rather unbelievable statistic -if Spokane was a nation competing at the games they would have been ranked 9th in Gold medals (3) and tied Canada for 10th in total medals with 12.
Medal Breakdown:
3 Gold
5 Silver
4 Bronze
(Hannah Dederick also won a bronze with the Universal Relay team not included in this count)

Parapan American Games Site:
https://www.santiago2023.org/en

Results page:
https://para.results-santiago2023.org/#/discipline/ATH/schedule/daily

Alicia Guerrero -Wapato, WA -F64 Amputee Thrower
This was Alicia’s first Parapan Games and international competition. She has previously attended the University of Illinois as a wheelchair basketball player and is now living back in Wapato in preparations for the Paris Paralympics in 2024
Discus -PR
The 20 year old from Wapato threw the discus in the F64 (F= Field, 64=disability classification) classification.

Bob Hunt -Spokane, WA -T53 Wheelchair racer
Santiago was Hunt’s second Parapan Games The 33 year old EWU student raced the 100m and 400m T53 Wheelchair races. Aside from wheelchair racing, Bob is also a EWU wheelchair basketball player, a junior wheelchair racing coach and the coach of the ParaSport Spokane Junior Varsity wheelchair basketball team.
100m -Silver
400m -Bronze PR

Taylor Swanson -Spokane, WA -T37 Sprinter with Cerebral Palsy
Swanson, 31, just recently moved to Spokane from Seattle to train with ParaSport Spokane, she only discovered Para Track and Field last summer and has quickly rose to international prominence. This was her first Parapan Games and international games.
100m -Silver
200m -Silver PR

Hannah Dederick, Spokane, WA -T54 Wheelchair Racer
ParaSport Spokane alumni -Currently a student at the University of Illinois
Dederick, 21, -3 gold / 1 silver / 1 bronze
Hannah had one of the most exciting races in the 1500m where she raced a very strategic and tactical race to out-sprint her Brazilian opponents to take the win.
100m - Gold
400m – Gold
800m- Silver
1500m -Gold
Universal Relay -Bronze

Phillip Croft, Spokane, WA -T53 Wheelchair Racer
ParaSport Spokane alumni -Currently a student at the University of Illinois.
Croft, 24, - 2 Bronze / 1 Silver
This was the second Parapan American Games for Croft.
100m -Bronze PR
400m -Silver PR
800m -7th PR
1500m -5th
5000m -Bronze

Learn more about the Para Track and Field Classification: https://lexi.global/sports/athletics

International Paralympic Committee Media Reporting Best Practices: https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/IPC%20Guide%20to%20Reporting%20on%20Para%20Athletes.pdf