Yen Hoang ( vi, Yến Hoàng; born March 8, 1997) is an American

wheelchair racer Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

, who won two medals at the

2019 Parapan American Games The 2019 Parapan American Games ( es, Juegos Parapanamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the VI Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 ParaPan-Am Games, was an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, ...

. She came second at the

2021 Chicago Marathon The 2021 Chicago Marathon was held on October 10, 2021. It was the 43rd edition of the annual Chicago Marathon, and the first after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. The 2020 Chicago Marathon was canceled as a result of the pandemic. T ...

and third at the

2021 Boston Marathon The 2021 Boston Marathon was the 125th official running of the annual marathon race held in Boston, Massachusetts, and 123rd time it was run on course (excluding the virtual event of 2020, and the ekiden of 1918). It took place on October 11, 20 ...

, and competed at the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Personal life

Yen Hoang was born in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

on March 8, 1997, and then moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with her family when she was three years old. Hoang has

cauda equina syndrome Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a condition that occurs when the bundle of nerves below the end of the spinal cord known as the cauda equina is damaged. Signs and symptoms include low back pain, pain that radiates down the leg, numbness around th ...

, and has used a wheelchair since the age of four. She started playing

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

in middle school, and started track and field events at Evergreen High School in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

. She has played wheelchair basketball at national youth level. Hoang attended the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

on a sports scholarship, graduating in business and accounting in 2019. Aside from

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

, Hoang works for

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

Career

In 2012, Hoang won the 3,200 meter wheelchair race at her school district competition. In 2014, she won the 800 meter and 3,200 meter events at the Tiger Invitational competition. Hoang competed at the

2015 Parapan American Games The 2015 Parapan American Games, officially the V Parapan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 ParaPan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Pa ...

, in four events, and also at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

. At the

, Hoang won the 800 meters T53 event, and came second in the 400 meters T53 competition. She also came fourth in the final of the 100 meters T53 at the Games. Hoang was the second fastest women finisher at the virtual 2020

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

, behind Susannah Scaroni. In 2021, Hoang came third in the

New York Mini 10K The Mastercard New York Mini 10K is an annual 10-kilometer road running competition for women that takes place in Central Park, New York City, in the United States. The race has been organised by New York Road Runners since 1972. The competition ...

wheelchair race. At the delayed

, she finished eighth in the final of the 800 meters T53 event. Her time in the semi-final was a personal best. She also competed in the 100 meters T53, 400 meters T53 and 1500 meters T53 events. Hoang came second in the women's wheelchair race at the

. It was her third

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

, and she had previously finished seventh and 12th in the event. The next day, she came third in the women's wheelchair race at the

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoang, Yen Living people 1997 births University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics American female wheelchair racers Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington Track and field athletes from Washington (state) Paralympic track and field athletes of the United States Illinois Fighting Illini Paralympic athletes Vietnamese emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women Sportspeople from Ho Chi Minh City