CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Local accomplished Paralympic athlete, Susannah Scaroni, qualified and will be participating in the Paralympics in Paris 2024.
Scaroni, who originally grew up in Tekoa, Washington, got her master’s degree in nutritional science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and qualified for the Paris Paralympics through the 2023 New York City Marathon. With her master’s degree, she is now a registered dietician and still trains in Champaign with the UIUC’s wheelchair athletics program. She injured her spinal cord at the T12 vertebrae at a young age, which is responsible for lower bodily functions. Despite this, she has managed to stay on top with an impressive Paralympic track record.
Some of these achievements include placing gold in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games for the Women’s 5000m wheelchair track event, bronze in the 2020 Women’s 800m wheelchair track event, and most recently, placing bronze in the 2023 Paralympic games for the Women’s 5000m wheelchair track event. She has also participated in several marathons, including the London, New York City, Tokyo marathons, winning the Chicago Marathon in 2022, and the Boston Marathon in 2023.