PARIS, France — A Kent athlete secured a silver medal in the women’s long jump over the weekend at the Paris Paralympics.
Jaleen Roberts, 25, jumped a personal best of 4.77 meters in the women’s long jump T37 on Sunday, Sept. 1. T37 is the classification for track and field athletes with coordinator and movement impairments.
Xiaoyan Wen of China won gold with her jump of 5.44 meters, smashing her own Paralympic record and nearly setting a new world record (which she set in 2023 with a jump of 5.45 meters). Manon Genest of France took bronze in the event, jumping 5.59 meters at Stade de France in Paris.
Wen also won gold in the women's 200-meter T37 final on Friday, running a time of 25.86. Nataliia Kobzar of Ukraine placed second, with Fenfen Jiang of China in third. Roberts narrowly missed adding another medal to her name; she placed fourth with a time of 27.99.
Roberts, who was born with cerebral palsy due to a stroke at birth, was born in Tacoma and lives in Kent. She attended Eastern Washington University.
She’s no stranger to success. At the Tokyo Paralympics, Roberts won two silver medals in women's long jump and 100-meter race.
She’ll have the chance to add another medal to her collection when she competes in the women’s 100-meter T37 race in Paris this week. Qualifying prelims are on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Also on the track
On Friday, Seattle sprinter Taylor Swanson placed ninth in the women's 200-meter T37 with a time of 44.85.
Two days later on Sunday, Hannah Dederick, of Mead, Wash., placed seventh in the women's 800-meter T54 race with a time of 1:48.20. Lauren Fields, of Spokane Valley, placed fifth in her heat of the women's 100-meter T34 and did not advance to the finals.
Lindi Marcusen, of Spokane, competes in the women’s 100-meter T63 preliminary heats and finals on Saturday, Sept. 7.
