Sports
Talan Smith’s rise in para track
From the way he explodes off the block, you’d think Talan Smith has run track his whole life. “This has been such a flip on its head kind of thing,” Smith said. Really, it’s only been three years. “When I wasn’t running, I did not have any hope of playing collegiate athletics.”His journey with track began in high school with a phone call from his dad. “My dad was like ‘Hey, your track coach at your high school thinks you can do really well at the para-ambulatory division,'” Smith said.While he’s been diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy that’s led to limited mobility on the left side of his body, Smith never thought of competing in that division. “I’d been playing baseball, and I’d been playing other able-bodied sports that everybody else was playing. So, the word disabled was really not in my vocabulary,” Smith said.He gave it a try anyway and fell in love. “It was really cool to get medals around my neck, even though I was the only one racing. From there on I was like okay, this is kind of cool.”As he worked his way up, the dream he’s always had of playing a sport in college came true after a meeting with the head coach of the Alabama Para track and the Director of Adapted Athletics. “He was like, ‘Hey, we know you’ve been accepted here. If you want to come here, you have a spot on the team,'” Smith said.It’s a spot he never thought was possible just three years ago. “I think that kid would say, ‘Wow, your hard work is starting to pay off. I think that would be the only thing I could say honestly,'” Smith said.Now he’s punched himself a ticket to the USA Outdoor and Para national championships in Eugene, Oregon. “It hasn’t been me; it’s been the Lord. He’s had his hand at work through this entire journey, and I would not be here without him,” Smith said.Smith’s had quite the journey, and as he competes, he hopes to show people everywhere that they can get to where he is. “When you think of people with disabilities like especially in severe cases, you can think that all hope is lost or especially someone who has had a life-altering injury after birth. It can be really hard to get back on your feet, and that’s what sports does. Sports gives hope, sports gives a future, sports gives purpose, and I want to give that to people,” Smith said.
From the way he explodes off the block, you’d think Talan Smith has run track his whole life.
“This has been such a flip on its head kind of thing,” Smith said.
Really, it’s only been three years.
“When I wasn’t running, I did not have any hope of playing collegiate athletics.”
His journey with track began in high school with a phone call from his dad.
“My dad was like ‘Hey, your track coach at your high school thinks you can do really well at the para-ambulatory division,'” Smith said.
While he’s been diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy that’s led to limited mobility on the left side of his body, Smith never thought of competing in that division.
“I’d been playing baseball, and I’d been playing other able-bodied sports that everybody else was playing. So, the word disabled was really not in my vocabulary,” Smith said.
He gave it a try anyway and fell in love.
“It was really cool to get medals around my neck, even though I was the only one racing. From there on I was like okay, this is kind of cool.”
As he worked his way up, the dream he’s always had of playing a sport in college came true after a meeting with the head coach of the Alabama Para track and the Director of Adapted Athletics.
“He was like, ‘Hey, we know you’ve been accepted here. If you want to come here, you have a spot on the team,'” Smith said.
It’s a spot he never thought was possible just three years ago.
“I think that kid would say, ‘Wow, your hard work is starting to pay off. I think that would be the only thing I could say honestly,'” Smith said.
Now he’s punched himself a ticket to the USA Outdoor and Para national championships in Eugene, Oregon.
“It hasn’t been me; it’s been the Lord. He’s had his hand at work through this entire journey, and I would not be here without him,” Smith said.
Smith’s had quite the journey, and as he competes, he hopes to show people everywhere that they can get to where he is.
“When you think of people with disabilities like especially in severe cases, you can think that all hope is lost or especially someone who has had a life-altering injury after birth. It can be really hard to get back on your feet, and that’s what sports does. Sports gives hope, sports gives a future, sports gives purpose, and I want to give that to people,” Smith said.