As Eva Houston was warming up for the 800-meter wheelchair race at the Paralympics this year, she felt a sense of self-doubt creeping over her.Â
It was a new feeling for the 23-year-old who grew up embracing her disabilities. As she made her first warm-up lap around the track, the confidence began to push through.
"I know my body was going to be able to do what it needed to do, even if my mind was feeling a little bit stressed," Houston said.
She was on the national stage once again, and just six days prior, she earned fourth place in the 100-meter race. Her instincts took over as the race began and after pushing past a group of competitors, Houston realized she was in third place. It was an out-of-body experience as she crossed the finish line.
After spending most of her life watching Paralympic athletes she admired on the podium, Houston finally was able to take her own place as she earned the bronze medal.
People are also reading…
“When they called my name and I rolled forward to receive my medal, it felt like everything that I’ve ever done for this sport was all worth it. Every early morning, every sore muscle, every mile that I put on the road, all the discomfort and pain in those moments was so worth it,†Houston said.
Houston was one of at least three Nebraskans to compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympics with more than 4,000 athletes.
Houston was born with cerebral palsy and was formally diagnosed at the age of 2. She grew up walking on crutches until she transitioned to a wheelchair in middle school. This week, she returned home to Omaha from her second Paralympic Games and her very first Paralympic medal around her neck.
“I was 13 when I was introduced to adaptive athletics, that’s when I started really keeping my eye on the Paralympic Games,†Houston said. “I never thought that it would be me.â€
From a young age, Houston said her parents treated her as if she didn’t have a disability which helped shape her frame of mind. Shortly after her diagnosis, Houston was horseback riding and in physical therapy while participating in activities such as dance.
“They were constantly trying to get me into different activities that might bring me joy because they knew the power of community and inclusion and socialization,†Houston said. “Because they didn’t think anything different about my body, I didn’t.â€
Houston jumped into the world of athletics by playing wheelchair basketball, but after six years, she felt like she was holding herself back.
“I was really intrigued with endurance sports,†Houston said. “I craved the idea of a long run and just letting your mind be free.â€
It was love at first sight when Houston saw a commercial of a wheelchair racer. As a student at Omaha's Westside High School, Houston was introduced to the girls high school track and field coach who not only allowed Houston to use the track to practice, but made her an official teammate.
“That coach was so enthusiastic and so willing to make a spot for me on his team, even though he had never coached anybody with a disability,†Houston said.
At the time, Houston said she was the only high school wheelchair racer that she knew of in Nebraska. Meeting Paralympian Cheri Madsen changed everything for her. The 10-time Paralympic medalist helped Houston grow in the sport and even helped get Houston her very first racing chair that actually fit.
While Houston admired Madsen, she never thought she would get into the Paralympic Games herself. Instead, her goal was to compete at the collegiate level. Her high school coach helped increase her workouts and before she knew it, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics were on the horizon.
After graduating, Houston moved to Champaign, Illinois, for college and to train at the National Paralympic Training Center for wheelchair track and field. After being sent back home freshman year for the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston found the setback to be a helpful tool as she trained for an extra year.
“I really made some life changes after my freshman year,†Houston said. “I put my head down and really focused and I think that if I hadn’t received that extra year, I’m not sure if I would have made the team, but the stars just aligned.â€
In Tokyo, Houston earned eighth place in the 100-meter race and sixth in the 800-meter races.Â
Off the track, Houston said the two weeks she spent in the Paralympic village with thousands of other people with disabilities showed a new level of camaraderie.
“You’ll never see that anywhere else and that understanding that we have, the respect that we have for each other’s unique abilities and bodies, I just don’t think that’s matched anywhere else in the world,†Houston said.
Houston was amazed to see all the different countries competing and moving their bodies in every way possible.
“There were scooters, there were wheelchairs, there were crutches and prosthetic legs. And I just had this realization that I was in the most diverse place in the world,†Houston said.
Natalie Schneider, a 41-year-old from Ord, competed in the Paralympics for her fifth time in wheelchair basketball. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her distal femur in high school.
Schneider, a 2007 graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, returned home from Paris with her first silver medal to add to her collection of two golds and one bronze.
Taleah Williams, a 27-year-old native from Norfolk, wasn’t always on board with the idea of competing against other athletes with disabilities. She was born without her lower left arm and grew up playing basketball and running in track, yet she had always competed against "able-bodied" athletes.
When Williams first heard about the Paralympics, she was finishing up her freshman year at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“I didn’t think it was fair for me to compete against people with disabilities,†Williams said. “But honestly, that was before I understood the sport more.â€
Williams competed in her first Paralympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro as a long jumper. Since then, she has returned to both the Tokyo and now Paris games. This year, she earned sixth place.
The past eight years have helped Williams improve her own self-confidence. For most of her life, Williams said she was shy, reserved and avoided talking about her arm. She wouldn’t share photos of her arm on social media either.
“Being around all these people with different disabilities and seeing how comfortable they are with themselves, it just kind of inspired me to do the same,†Williams said.
She hopes the support continues around the games to help younger kids who are up and coming within sports and have disabilities.
“I just think it’ll help maybe a little girl like me become more confident and comfortable with herself before I was able to,†Williams said. “I just think if I was able to see these kinds of things before I did, it would’ve helped kick-start me a little bit of that confidence in everything.â€