Isaac Jean-Paul has his hopes set on winning gold in the 2024 Paris Paralympics. The Paralympic bronze medalist has been on a historic run since he began competing in adaptive sports in 2017.
Competing in track and field has shown Jean-Paul the importance of perseverance.
“Mentally and spiritually, track has done a lot of work on me,” he said. “My proudest moment spiritually is never giving up and understanding what it means to believe, not just as the sentiment but as the foundation of all possibilities.”
Jean-Paul has juvenile retinoschisis, which leaves him with 20 percent of his vision. This places him in the T13 category for the visually impaired in adaptive sports competitions.
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Jean-Paul is the world record holder for the men’s high jump T13 after his 2.17m performance in the Para Athletics Championships in 2017.
“I broke the world record not once, not twice, but three times at one event, at the Paralympic World Championships,” he said.
The men’s high jump T13 will not be in the 2024 Paris Games; Sean-Paul will be focusing on the long jump T13 and the 100m T13.
In the 2020 Tokyo games, Jean-Paul competed in the men’s long jump T13 and the men’s 100m T13. He earned a bronze medal in the long jump.
“In the midst of competing, I actually threw my goggles in the crowd out of frustration because everything was going wrong,” Jean-Paul said. “With the grace of God at my very last jump, I was able to win the bronze medal by two centimeters.”
The Paralympic Trials take place in Miramar, Florida from July 18-20. Jean-Paul has been training with West Los Angeles College track and field coach Tim Bowman to prepare.
“I think training with him is going to change a lot of things,” Jean-Paul said. “I’m not saying what he can do for me as an athlete because I feel like everything is already there but bringing out a different part of me, teaching me different things.”
After his historic run in the Para Athletics Championships in 2017, Jean-Paul learned about and started attending the Angel City Games. Growing up, Jean-Paul never met a para-athlete. By competing in track at The Games, he became a role model to the younger participants.
“Prior to this event, I always as an athlete, I aspire to be like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant,” Jean-Paul said. “When I was able to jump at Angel City Games, I became the Michael Jordan, the Kobe Bryant for them.”
Jean-Paul is also working on a children’s book called “Mya’s Marvelous Day at The Games.”
“It’s a story about my experience as a Paralympian and a father teaching my daughter about individuals with disabilities and her first experience is the Paralympic Games,” Jean-Paul said. “It’s a multi-series book and I’m excited for that to come out.”
