Former DePaul Throw Goes Past 14 Meters, Wins T46 Shot Put For First Paralympic Gold

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

World Para Athletics Photo

Noelle Malkamaki is in a class by herself in the T46 women’s shot put.

The former DePaul Blue Devil, who was born with a congenital birth defect that prevented her right hand from  developing, matched her personal best on Wednesday from Stade de France, hitting 46 feet, 1.50 inches (14.06m).

World Para Athletics didn't recognize her 14.06m from earlier this spring, so her best throw on Wednesday was also a world record.

“This moment means the world to me,” Malkamaki said to NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson.

She was fifth at the Big East Championships in the shot put in May.

“It’s been a really long year of training. Coming off my fifth year of my college season straight into this, there hasn’t been much time off in the last 12 months and I feel like I was able to build into a series of throws that I’m really proud of.”

All six of Malkamaki’s throws would have easily won the competition by over a meter, beginning with her first throw of 44-4 (13.51m) to shatter the Paralympic meet record of 39-1.75 (11.93m) by Germany’s Britta Jänicke.

On her second throw, Malkamaki went farther with a throw of 45-9.25 (13.95m).

Two throws later, she threw her winning mark.

“This exceeds everything I’ve dreamt about,” Malkamaki said.

On April 13 at the Gary Wienke Memorial meet in Champaign, Illinois, Malkamaki threw the same distance.

Malkamaki also won the last two World Para Championships in F46 shot put.

Three more medals were earned by the U.S. to go alongside Malkamaki’s gold on day six of competition, bringing the medal count to 23.

Derek Loccident and Jaryd Wallace captured silver and bronze in the T64 men’s long jump final, with Loccident jumping 25-6.75 (7.79m) and Wallace jumping 24-7 (7.49m). Trenten Merrill also competed in the final for the U.S., finishing ninth with a mark of 21-0.5 (6.41m).

Tatyana McFadden, world record holder in the T54 women’s 100, secured silver position in 15.67 seconds and teammate Hannah Dederick took sixth in 16.50.

F46 men’s shot put world record holder Josh Cinnamo of the U.S. threw a second-round mark of (15.66m) to finish fourth in the final. 

Brian Siemann, bronze medalist in the T53 men’s 400, finished fourth for the U.S. in the T53 100 final, clocking 15.27.

Nick Mayhugh finished as the top American in the T38 men’s long jump final, jumping a personal best (6.32m) to finish fifth. Ryan Medrano, who’s earned two silver medals in Paris, finished sixth in a personal best mark of (6.23m).

Chelsea Stein took home another seventh-place finish for the U.S. in the T53 women’s 100 final in 18.30, going with her other seventh-place finish in the T53 800.

Noah Malone of the U.S., who was upgraded to a gold medal in the T12 men’s 100 final after Turkey’s Serkan Yildirim was disqualified, will advance to his second final of the Paralympic Games in the T12 400 after running a seasons-best time of 48.65 in round one.

U.S. teammates Taylor Swanson and Jaleen Roberts both earned automatic qualifiers into the final of the T37 women’s 100, with Swanson winning heat one in 13.16 and Roberts, who captured silver in the T37 long jump competition, finishing second in heat two in a seasons-best time of 13.34.