Justin Phongsavanh () (born May 19, 1997) is an American

Paralympic athlete The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer Paralympic Games, Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports a ...

who specializes in

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. He represented the United States at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, 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 Inte ...

Career

Phongsavanh made his international debut for the United States at the

2019 Parapan American Games The 2019 Parapan American Games (), officially the VI Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 ParaPan-Am Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Parapan Am ...

where he won a gold medal in the javelin throw F54 event. In June 2021, during the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials for Track and Field, Phongsavanh set the javelin throw world record with a distance of 33.29 meters. He represented the United States at the

in the javelin throw F54 event and won a bronze medal.

Personal life

Phongsavah is of mixed Laotian and Caucasian ancestry. His biological parents were incarcerated when he was two years old and after spending time in the Iowa foster care system he was adopted by Tamera Shinn and raised in

Ankeny, Iowa Ankeny (, ) is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and a suburb of the state capital of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, as part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Ankeny ...

. On October 24, 2015, Phongsavanh was shot in a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

parking lot. The bullet fragmented into five pieces, with one piece being lodged into his spine resulting in

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phongsavanh, Justin 1997 births Living people American male javelin throwers People with paraplegia Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Track and field athletes from Iowa Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) 21st-century American sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Parapan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Parapan American Games gold medalists for the United States Parapan American Games silver medalists for the United States