Three-time Paralympian Susannah Scaroni defeated defending champion and the most decorated athlete in Bank of America Chicago Marathon history, Tatyana McFadden, on Sunday, winning the the 2022 race by a landslide to mark her first victory in the Windy City.
This year's race marks Scaroni's fourth appearance at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where she has previously reached the podium, but never been at the top.
The University of Illinois alum competed in three events at the 2020 Paralympics, grabbing gold in the 5,000 meter in 10:51:57 and bronze in the 800 meter in 1:44.43.
Her best race happened this spring in Duluth, where she set the American best to win in 1:30:42, beating McFadden, her legendary teammate, by 48 seconds.
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McFadden, who had captured seven consecutive Bank of America Chicago Marathon titles, blitzed the field in an incredible performance in her 2021 race, but wasn't able to repeat in 2022.
Scaroni's victory was made even sweeter when it was revealed she competed using her former teammate, three-time Chicago Marathon winner and NBC 5 analyst Amanda McGrory's equipment.
Scaroni, who trains at the University of Illinois, was on a training run just two weeks after the Tokyo Paralympic Games last year when she was struck by a vehicle in Champaign.
The force of the impact not only caused a “burst fracture” to her T8 vertebrae, but also completely destroyed her racing chair.
"It truly gave me a new perspective... I have a new appreciation to be alive and so I think about that constantly now and everything's a celebration and an opportunity and that's translated into my career," she told NBC Chicago at the finish line.
During Sunday’s broadcast, McGrory revealed that when she retired from competitive racing last year, there was only one person who should get her racing gear: Scaroni.
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“Susannah is the perfect person for it,” she said. “I have never met another athlete who is so intrinsically motivated to do her best every day. It actually made it very difficult to train with her when we were teammates because she wants to go fast, every day, constantly.”
Scaroni, who finished third in the 2018 Chicago Marathon, had to deal with more than just the loss of her equipment on the way to this race. Her first attempt at a comeback from the crash took place at the New York City Half Marathon, but she was forced to withdraw after contracting COVID-19, according to Yahoo.
Scaroni survived a car accident at age 5 but was left paralyzed following the incident. Since then, she has become a stellar athlete with three Paralympic appearances under her belt and prior experience at the Chicago Marathon.
