As a track and field athlete, Noelle Lambert, a former player for the women’s lacrosse team at UMass Lowell, has continued to defy expectations and break records despite losing her left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2016.
She is getting ready for the Paralympic Games in Paris after competing in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and finishing sixth in the 100-metre T63 with a time of 15.97 seconds, a new American record.
T61-64 refers to athletes who compete while using a lower limb prosthesis. This classification was developed expressly to guarantee equitable competition amongst athletes with comparable limb function levels, giving them a level playing field on which to demonstrate their skills.
These athletes compete at the top levels of their sport, displaying amazing talent and determination. The T61-64 classification honours their outstanding accomplishments in the realm of athletics in addition to recognizing their particular challenges.
Lambert aims for records after historic five-metre jump
With her next performance in Paris, Lambert hopes to smash even more records. When she achieved an incredible 5.06-metre jump on just her second try at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in July, she made history as the first American T63 woman to surpass five metres in a major para competition.
Lambert’s 5.23-metre long jump, which she accomplished at Chula Vista, California, in June, set a new record for the Americas for athletes like her. Her current goal is to break the 5.46-metre T63 world record set by Italy’s Martina Caironi in June 2022 in Paris. In Paris, Lambert wants to go above and beyond this incredible accomplishment by making history once more.
Lambert switched from running to jumping to try to qualify for a second Paralympic Games. Since then, she has broken numerous American and national records.
Her incredible accomplishments will be on display in the 2024 Paralympic Games at France’s biggest stadium, Stade de France, where track and field activities are scheduled to take place from August 30 to September 8.