Ray Martin takes two silvers in 1,500- and 400-meter races at Tokyo Paralympics
Division of Disability Resources & Educational Services
University of Illinois paralympian Raymond Martin won the silver medal in the men’s 400-meter race on Friday at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Martin finished with a time of 55.59 seconds, a season-best for the 27-year-old in his third Paralympic Games. He races as a T52 classification.
Martin also took home a silver in the 1,500-meter race on Sunday. He is scheduled to compete in the 100-meter dash on Sept. 3.
Martin finished in 3:29.72, breaking the old U.S. record he set in 2015, 3:29.79. This was the second silver medal Martin had won during the Tokyo games.
“Same happiness I had the other day. Like I said, it was going to be another close one,” Martin said. “It was a very fast race, I’m very happy with my performance.”
Martin, who has been racing since age five when he tried his first racing wheelchair, has a condition called Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, which restricts movement in the joints in his legs, fingers, feet and wrists.
He eas the 2011/12 Paralympic Male Athlete of the Year after earning four gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, and hopes to be a physicians assistant upon graduation.
Find out more about Martin in the AHS podcast series, A Few Minutes With.