The Paralympic Games provided some ups and downs for Noah Malone.
A 2020 Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate, Malone originally placed second Aug. 31 with a time of 10.71 seconds in the 100-meter race Aug. 31 in Paris, but the winner, Serkan Yildirium from Turkey, was disqualified a few days after the race after officials successfully appealed the injunction which allowed him to compete while his sport class status was under review.
“It was good to hear, but I had to refocus for the 400 the next day,” Malone said of finishing second Sept. 5 with a time of 49.35 seconds. “It was good news, but I had to regroup.”
Malone, who is legally blind, finished with three medals — gold for the T12 100-meter race, silver in the T12 400 meters and bronze for the 4×100 universal relay. The T12 status is based on the level of visual impairment.
Malone said mentally the competition was the toughest of his life.
“It was successful in its own way,” Malone said. “I just don’t really just measure success off the medals, but I feel good about it. They weren’t the best times I’ve had. I walked away with three medals, so I’m definitely satisfied with that.”
At the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, Malone won a gold medal in the 4×100 universal relay and silver medals in the 100- and 400-meter races..
Malone started losing his vision in 2015 and was diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, a rare genetic eye disorder that left him with 20/400 vision in his left eye and 20/600 in his right eye.
“It hasn’t changed much since eighth grade,” Malone said of his eyesight.
Malone won the 200 meters and finished second in the 100 meters in the IHSAA state track and field meet as a junior in 2019. His prep career was cut short as the IHSAA was forced to cancel the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Malone became one of the only legally blind NCAA Division I sprinters in the nation at Indiana State University. He earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in indoor and outdoor track and field all three years of his college career.
Malone trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center near San Diego after turning professional in December 2023. He is finishing his last semester at ISU online.
“I’m sponsored by Nike, so that’s allowed me to go full time,” he said.
Malone, who turns 23 Oct. 13, said the Para Athletics World Championships late in 2025 is his next major meet. He won the gold medal in the T12 100 meters in the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships in Paris.
Malone said he didn’t spend much time enjoying Paris during the Paralympics.
“I’ve been there before and just focused on the competition,” he said.
Family fans
Noah Malone’s mother, River Sturdivant, attended the Paralympic Games along with his father, Kyle Malone, and his sister, Zion Malone, a junior at Hamilton Southeastern..
“Words fail to truly express how proud we are of Noah and his accomplishments, on and off the track,” Sturdivant said. “I’m most proud of how he has embodied resilience and determination throughout high school and college in overcoming limitations as a result of the visual impairment.”
Sturdivant said it was thrilling to be in the electric atmosphere of the stadium witnessing each of her son’s competitions in Paris.
“Most importantly, it meant the world to us to be able to support him in person through the exciting yet emotional roller coaster of all that the Paralympics brought this year,” Sturdivant said.
