PARA ATHLETICS DIVISIONS CONTENDERS

A star-studded field will vie for Para titles on race day

Misato Michishita ➜

VISION IMPAIRMENT

Chaz Davis, USA/MA • T12

A Grafton, Mass. native and 2016 Paralympian on the track, Davis holds the T12 American marathon record at 2:31:48. At the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Davis finished eighth in the 5,000m and tenth in the 1,500m. Davis was a state champion runner while at Grafton High and ran for the University of Hartford.

Misato Michishita, Japan • T12

Michishita secured a silver medal in the marathon at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and followed that up with a win at the 2019 World Para Athletics Marathon championship (3:06:18). She is the T12 world record holder in the marathon with a lifetime best of 2:56:14.

Tayana Passos, Brazil • T13

Passos placed second in the Visually Impaired Division at Boston in 2019 and is a perennial top contender. She ran 3:42:42 in 2019 and 3:22:27 for the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience last year— fastest among all T13 women.

Tayana Passos

LOWER-LIMB IMPAIRMENT

Marko Cheseto Lemtukei, USA/FL • T62

Cheseto Lemtukei set a nearly five-minute personal best in Chicago in 2019 to establish a new T62 world best of 2:37:23. He was an All-American in track and cross-country at Alaska-Anchorage.

Adam Popp, USA/VA • T63

A Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, ultramarathoner, and triathlete, Popp represented Team USA at the 2017 Invictus Games and has twice completed 100-mile ultras. He also owns the T63 marathon world best.

Liz Willis, USA/KS • T64

A 2016 Paralympian for Team USA, Willis specialized in the sprints. She earned bronze in the 100m and 400m at the 2016 Paralympic Trials, and silver in the 100m and 200m at the 2015 national championships. Before becoming a sprinter, Willis was a distance runner in high school.

Danielle McLaughlin, USA/CA • T64

McLaughlin ran 3:50:50 at the New York City Marathon in 2018. She's also an International Triathlon Union Championship Series gold medalist.

Liz Willis

DID YOU KNOW:

Para athletes are grouped by type of impairment and degree of functional limitation (called classifications), helping to create a level playing field for competition.

CHANGING LANES

The pros and Para athletes aren't the only recognizable faces in the field.

Danica Patrick, Racecar Driver

A former NASCAR and Indy Car standout, Danica Patrick will race her first marathon in Boston. “I have only ever had one bucket list item. One! That is to do a marathon. So, why not do the most famous and apparently hardest one...Boston,” she wrote on Instagram. Patrick will run for Team Speed of Light, which supports youths as part of the Light Foundation, an organization founded by former Patriot lineman Matt Light.

James Develin, Patriots Fullback

Known as a tenacious blocker who earned three Super Bowl rings as part of the Patriots dynasty, James Develin will shift from the gridiron to the roads this year. He’ll join a distinguished list of Patriots alums to earn a unicorn medal, running as part of the Joe Andruzzi Foundation to support families battling cancer. “This is a chance for me to personally step out of my comfort zone and continue to push my body’s capabilities beyond my mind's limitations,” he said.