Paul Nitz (born 1969) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

from

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

competing mainly in category T52 sprint events.

Biography

Paul has competed in five Paralympics, winning four gold medals and one bronze. His first games came in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, where he was part of the American TW1-2 4 × 100 m relay team that set a new world record on the way to winning the gold medal, winning the individual 100m in a new Paralympic record as well as competing in the 200m and 400m. In his home games in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, he again competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m, setting a new world record in the 100m to win his second gold medal at the distance. A third 100m gold came in

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

, where he also finished sixth in the 200m. His fourth games in

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

were the first time Paul had been beaten in a Paralympic 100m final, only managing a sixth. He also failed to make the final in both the 200m and 400m. After missing out on making the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Paul came back in 2012 with sights on more medals and records. At the Swiss Championships in May 2012, he broke the world record twice in two separate competitions. His best time was 16.73 seconds. He finished the 2012 season with a bronze medal.

References

External links

* * Sportspeople from Edina, Minnesota Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Living people World record holders in para-athletics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics 1969 births Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games American male wheelchair racers Parapan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Parapan American Games bronze medalists for the United States 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-Paralympic-medalist-stub