Students Turned Superstars: 3 High Schoolers at the Paris Paralympic Games
From the classroom to Paris: High schoolers Arelle Middleton, Jordan White and Maylee Phelps are some of the youngest stars at the 2024 Paralympics.
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While most teenagers are busy readjusting to classroom routines and tackling homework after a long summer break, 16-year-old Arelle Middleton is at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, competing for team USA in track and field.
At this year鈥檚 summer Paralympics in Paris, earned a silver medal in the F64 shot put. She also competed in the F64 discus event and came in 10th place. F64 is a for Paralympians with limb deficiencies and leg length differences.
鈥淲ith able-bodied kids, they can use their body differently,鈥 Middleton, a sophomore at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, The Daily Bulletin in an interview last year. 鈥淭hey have both of their legs. They can do certain things a lot stronger. But it doesn鈥檛 matter because I can still compete with them.鈥
Middleton is one of three inspiring high school Paralympians on Team USA who are competing in Paris this year. Here are their stories:
ARELLE MIDDLETON, 16
Middleton was with a congenital femoral deficiency, which means her left leg is shorter than her right leg and her left hip is underdeveloped. Despite physical challenges, she competes alongside athletes without disabilities in track and field high school meets.
In 2023, when Middleton was just 15 years old, she was named U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Female Field Athlete of the Year, and also a spot on the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-American list.
Her mother, former WNBA player Sandra Van Embricqs, encouraged Middleton to get involved in sports at an early age.
Middleton joined the Challenged Athletes Foundation, or CAF, at age 12 and frequently won competitions. But when she entered high school, her mother strongly encouraged her to join the Los Osos track and field team.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how I would feel being with able-bodied kids,鈥 Middleton told The Daily Bulletin. 鈥淭hey wouldn鈥檛 really understand as much as kids with a disability would understand, but I met some great people here. It鈥檚 good to be part of something with your school.鈥
The Paralympian plans to compete in both wheelchair basketball and track and field after she graduates in 2026. She believes cross-training will benefit her performance in each sport.
Several college basketball programs have already Middleton.
JORDAN WHITE, 15
At 15 years old, Jordan White is the youngest archer from the U.S. to for the Paralympics this summer.
A sophomore at Hill Country Christian School of Austin, White鈥檚 math teacher Christopher Felleisen calls him a 鈥減henomenal student.鈥
He鈥檚 also a quick learner. The Austin, Texas, native tried archery for the first time less than four years ago when he was looking for a new activity to keep him busy during COVID. He has since won six national records. And less than a year ago, he began working toward competing in Paris.
White was with a right leg that is shorter than the left, challenging his flexibility. He dedicates six to seven days a week to perfecting his form, strength, and mental agility and understands the role he plays in enhancing the representation of people with disabilities in archery.
鈥淚 really hope that I can pave the way for other young disabled archers,鈥 he Hill Country News in August.
鈥淛ordan is a hard worker, asks great questions and is an extremely high achiever,鈥 Felleisen told The 74. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 exciting about having Jordan in class is that he鈥檚 dedicated to doing well and it鈥檚 seen in his athletic performance, but his level of achievement is not very different in the classroom.鈥
White, who is part of a close-knit group of friends known as the 鈥楲unch Bunch,鈥 takes part in his high school鈥檚 engineering pathway program, which focuses on engineering and robotics classes. He鈥檚 also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the yearbook staff.
鈥淗e鈥檚 known for being incredibly intelligent and he鈥檚 at the top of all his classes, and everyone knows it,鈥 added his academic and college advisor Jessica Pyo.
His teachers say they鈥檙e closely following his performance at the Paralympics.
鈥淚t looks like he鈥檚 having a lot of fun and this is a great story for him to tell, especially with college applications coming soon.鈥 Pyo said.
MAYLEE PHELPS, 17
At just 17, Maylee Phelps has taken wheelchair tennis by storm and has secured a win in the first round of women鈥檚 singles in Paris.
Phelps, a high school junior in Portland, Oregon, was with spina bifida, a condition where the spinal cord does not develop properly. This requires her to wear a leg brace and use a wheelchair.
The Paralympian began competing nationally at age 12, the International Tennis Federation鈥檚 Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year in 2023 and she scored the No. 1 position on the Cruyff Foundation Girls鈥 Junior Ranking.
Phelps her homeschool schedule with at least five days a week of tennis practice and strength training.
鈥淪he just absorbs,鈥 U.S. national wheelchair tennis coach John Devorss the University of Oregon. 鈥淵ou tell her something and it just takes a few times and she鈥檚 correcting it herself, which is a great characteristic of any athlete is just be really coachable.鈥
Phelps and Devorss train in Salem, Oregon, which is more than an hour south of Phelps鈥 home in Portland.
In her free time, the tennis player enjoys puzzles and playing with her dog Otis. She also volunteers at Shriners Hospital for Children, introducing children with disabilities to tennis.
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