The 2024 Paris Paralympics will start on August 28 and Team USA will have 220 athletes competing. Among them is Rancho Cucamonga native Arelle Middleton who will be competing in the F64 shot put and F64 discus.
F64 is a classification for Paralympians who have limb deficiency and leg length differences. At the age of 16, Middleton is one of the youngest members of Team USA heading to Paris.
Middleton noted how she felt accomplished when she qualified for the Paralympic Track and Field team.
“I was very surprised honestly and overall ready to get to training and get ready for the Paralympics,” she said.
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Leading up to the Paralympics, Middleton has been working ardently with hopes of bringing home a gold medal.
“I have practices in the mornings and then with one of my teammates, we practice and my coach comes down with us, then we’ll come work out,” Middleton said. “It’s mostly it, just practice and workout.”
Earlier this year, Middleton competed in her first World Championships, earning a silver medal in women’s shot put F64 and placing 6th in the women’s discus throw F64. She noted how getting a medal in the Worlds boosted her confidence in track and field.
“It was definitely a new experience,” she said. “Internationally was very interesting because the first time I competed against people older than me and people who’ve been doing this for a lot longer than I have.”
During her freshman year at Los Osos high school, Middleton became the 2023 CIF State champion in the ambulatory shot put. Her 39-5.25 throw gave her the CIF State record in the event. She mentioned how she began taking track and field more serious when she began attending Los Osos.
“Having practices every day, working with lots of great throwers and people who really want to do well,” Middleton said. “That helped me get better at it.”
She was named on the 2023 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field High School All-American Team. Watching her peers excel keeps Middleton inspired as an athlete.
“I see so many great athletes on TV, people I know in my life in basketball and people I see at college level, they help me want to keep going so I can be like them,” Middleton said.
Middleton also competes in several other sports including basketball. She noted how she enjoys accomplishing in track and field because it is an individual sport.
“I feel like with track and shot put, it’s a lot more rewarding because it’s just you and in basketball, it’s a whole team,” Middleton said. “With track, when you do something accomplishing, you feel more successful because it’s just you.”
