Nick Mayhugh

Started: He took up Para athletics in 2019. (teamusa.org, 11 Jul 2020) Reason: He was a member of the US Para football 7-a-side team at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. While he was there he asked US national Para athletics coach Joaquim Cruz about the possibility of him trying athletics. "He shot it straight and said, 'I often get a lot of athletes who think they can do both and take on the workload of two sports. What makes you different? What makes you want to do this? Do you know what it takes?' I know what type of person I am and the type of athlete I am." (teamusa.org, 11 Jul 2020) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 28 Apr 2022) Awards: In 2019 he was voted US Soccer Player of the Year with a Disability. (nickmayhugh.com, 01 Jan 2021; ussoccer.com, 16 Dec 2019) Additional Info: BOLT COMPARISONS He was inspired by Usain Bolt early in his career, and drew comparisons to the Jamaican sprinter during the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. After winning gold in the T37 200m in Tokyo, he mimicked Bolt's trademark celebration. "It is an honour for me to be put in the same sentence as Usain Bolt. When I started my career in Para athletics, I wouldn't be able to sleep sometimes until 03:00 so I watched videos of him on YouTube. The next morning I had to wake up at 06:00 and he pushed me because I wanted to replicate what he did on the track. I want to leave a lasting effect off the track and educate as many people about the Paralympics as Bolt did for the Olympics. He saw me celebrating in his style at the Tokyo 2020 [Games] and sent me a video back which was crazy. He told me to keep going and it is exactly what I am going to do." (paralympic.org, 28 Apr 2022) FROM FOOTBALL TO ATHLETICS Growing up his primary sport was football [soccer]. After his diagnosis as a teenager, doctors said he would likely never play football again. He lost his spot on his club team, DC United, shortly after his diagnosis and stopped playing football for three months. However, his diagnosis ultimately became motivation for him to have a successful sporting career and before beginning his athletics career, he played for the US national Para football 7-a-side team. "To go from the top of one sport [Para football] and to try to reach the top of another [Para athletics] is incredibly difficult. You know, a lot of people told me it was virtually impossible. But as soon as someone tells me I can't do something, I become obsessed with it, hyper focused, and I'm not going to stop until I get it done." (japantimes.co.jp, 28 Aug 2021; whatsupusana.com, 01 Jun 2020) TATTOO He has a tattoo of Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. "When I was 10 years old and started to practise football, my coaches were all Brazilian. They were hard on us and they taught us how to play the Brazilian way. At the time, I watched a lot of videos of Ronaldinho playing for Brazil and Barcelona. He was dancing on the field, enjoyed playing football, and tried to do as many tricks and nutmeg the opponent as many times as he could. He was my favourite player and I tried to copy his moves when I was on the field." (paralympic.org, 28 Apr 2022)

Sporting Relatives: His brother Thomas Mayhugh has worked as an athletics coach. (celebsaga.com, 27 Jul 2021)