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Competing against able-bodied athletes, David Blair and Hunter Woodhall won Utah high school track and field championships 23 years apart.
They will participate together as USA athletes in their first Paralympics, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled Wednesday and competition in 20 sports running through Sept. 18 in Rio de Janeiro. Woodhall and Blair are the leading medal contenders among the five Utahns entered in the Paralympics, part of the USA's 289-member Paralympic team. A closer look at the five:
David Blair, track and field • Born with a club foot, a condition addressed by several surgeries as a child, Blair learned only last year that he was eligible for the Paralympics. He returned to throwing the discus after 16 years away from the sport and has regained his form at age 40 by working with coach James Parker, a former Olympian from Utah State.
An Eagle Mountain resident, Blair won a state championship in the discus for Davis High School in 1993 and claimed Big Sky Conference titles in the hammer and weight throw for Weber State. In the 2015 World Championships, Blair earned a silver medal in the shot put and a bronze in the discus. In May, he was named the Male Adaptive Athlete of the Year in the Governor's State of Sport Awards. The discus final in Blair's division is Sept. 16.
Chris Hammer, paratriathlon • Hammer, 30, was born with one hand and became a Division II All-America runner at Grand Valley State in Michigan. He finished in the top 10 in the 1,500 meters and the marathon in the 2012 Paralympics in London.
Hammer is pursuing a doctorate in exercise and sport science at the University of Utah and decided to compete in Rio in the paratriathlon, a new event in 2016. The competition includes a 750-meter swim, a 20K cycling course and a 5K run. The men's paratriathlon will be contested Saturday.
Marybai Huking, goalball • A recent graduate of Fremont High School, Huking is legally blind. She competed in figure skating in her youth and took up goalball through the Utah Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired after her family moved from Montana seven years ago.
Goalball is a team sport designed for visually impaired athletes, with a bell embedded in a ball that is rolled or thrown toward the goal. Huking, who was adopted from China at age 2, is a member of the six-woman USA team. The gold medal game is Sept. 16.
Michael Lukow, archery • Lukow, 30, lost his right foot in an explosion in Iraq in 2008 as a U.S. Army infantry member and took up archery as part of his rehabilitation - retrieving arrows as he learned to walk with prosthetics and braces. The Colorado native is part of the Army's World Class Athlete program and moved to Salt Lake City to work with coach Randi Smith.
Lukow earned the last spot in the men's recurve open division in the U.S. Paralympic Trials in June. The medal round in his event is Sept. 13.
Hunter Woodhall, track and field • Woodhall, now a Syracuse High School senior, won the 400 meters in the Class 5A state meet in May. He runs with prosthetics after having both legs amputated below the knee as an infant, due to a congenital condition.
Woodhall won a silver medal in the 400 and a bronze in the 200 in the 2015 World Championships. He has geared his training for Rio toward the 400, as a strong contender for a gold medal. In Woodhall's division, the 200 final is Monday and the 400 final is Sept. 15.
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