SAN ANTONIO, Texas - With another world record for sprinter David Prince, the 2013 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships came to a close Sunday at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. The competition, which will help determine the United States team for the 2013 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, featured more than 130 athletes from six countries competing over three days.
"I just went out and ran really hard," Prince said. "That is what my coach told me to do so that is what I did. Training has kind of helped with giving me a good understanding of pace and how I need to run the cycle of the race. Having a good racing plan, going out and having a good race that is what my coach wanted me to do and that is what I did."
Prince (Sarasota, Fla.) bested his own world record in the men's 400-meter (T44), running a 49.87 to erase the 50.61 world record he set at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In a combined race for single and double below the knee amputees at the Games, Prince, a T44 who had his right leg amputated following a motorcycle accident, finished third to South African Oscar Pistorius and American Blake Leeper, both double amputees competing as T43s.
Prince was golden in San Antonio. In his only two races of the national championships, he ran at world record pace.
In Sunday's 400m, he topped Leeper (Kingsport, Tenn.), who ran a 52.05, and Trenten Merrill (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), a single amputee, who ran 53.89. The Floridian clocked a 22.47 Saturday to erase the 22.49 world record set by South Africa's Arnu Fourie in the men's 200m final in London.
"No strategy," Prince said of how two world records change his preparations for worlds. "Nothing has really changed. I might have my name up on a board or something but nothing's really changed."
Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.) was also among the top performers of the weekend, winning all six of the events she entered. A defending world champion in multiple events, McFadden won four medals in five events at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, including three gold medals.
In San Antonio, McFadden competed in an impressive array of events. She claimed the top prize in the 100m (T54), 200m (T54), 800m (T54) and 5,000m (T53/54) on Saturday. McFadden returned to the track Sunday to take the top prize in the 1,500m (T53/54) and the 400m (T54).
"She's a beast," Prince said. "When you're a runner, you choose to sprint or do distance. Tatyana does everything. She does the marathon down to the 100m and she can win any of them. That is incredible."
Raymond Martin of Jersey City, N.J. won the men's 1,500m (T51/52) with a time of 4:14.60, topping Steven Toyoji (Campbell, Calif.) and Isaiah Rigo (Cheney, Wash.). The four-time London 2012 Paralympic Games gold medalist also won the men's 400m (T34/51/52) on Sunday.
Josh George (Herndon, Va.) won the men's 400m (T54) and the men's 1,500m (T53/54).
In other action on the track Sunday, Michael Murray (Nashville, Tenn.) won the men's 1,500m (T11/12/13/20) and Amy McDonaugh (Irmo, S.C.) won the women's 1,500m (T11/12/20). Karsten Brogan (Bossier City, La.), Erik Hightower (Glendale, Ariz.), Markeith Price (Baltimore, Md.) and Shirley Reilly (Tucson, Ariz.) won their respective 400m races.
Dennis Ogbe (Prospect, Ky.) won the men's discus (F57/58) with a throw of 45.47 meters. In the women's discus (F11/12/35-37), Kathy Ducat of Sun Prairie, Wis., threw an 18.21m to win the title.
The U.S. roster for the world championships, July 19-28, in Lyon, France, will be selected no later than June 18. World team members are selected based on the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships Athlete/Guide Selection Produces, created by U.S. Paralympics Track and Field and approved by the United States Olympic Committee in March.
IPC Athletics, the international federation for Paralympic track and field, allocated 76 slots - 51 men, 25 women - to U.S. Paralympics for the world championships.
Click here for complete results from the 2013 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships, June 14-16, in San Antonio.
For more information, please contact Jamie Blanchard, U.S. Paralympics, at 719-237-2179 or jamie.blanchard@usoc.org.
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