TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 31: Kym Crosby of Team United States celebrates winning the bronze medal after competing in the Women's 100m - T13 final on day 7 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
It took an extra year, but Kym Crosby climbed back on the Paralympic Games podium Tuesday. Crosby claimed bronze in the T13 100-meters, just as she did in the 2016 Rio Games. After posting the fastest time in the three preliminary heats Tuesday morning, a personal-best 12.06, the Chico State track and field alumnae crossed the line in the final in 12.08 to capture her second Paralympic Games medal.
Crosby will compete in the 400 meters as well. The preliminaries are scheduled for Wednesday at 5:28 a.m., Pacific, and the final is set for Friday at 6:08 p.m. Pacific. Crosby (Kinesiology, '18) competes in the T13 classification for athletes with a moderate visual impairment. She was born with albinism and has no pigment in her hair, skin or eyes. Legally blind with 20/400 vision, Crosby can identify the white lines contrasted against dark-colored tracks, allowing her to run within them.
Known as "The Flash" during her time as a Chico State student-athlete from 2013–15, Crosby (originally from Yuba City) accepted the invitational to move to Chula Vista and train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The move paid off. She has now twice realized her dream of competing in the Paralympic Games.
Her husband, Erik Hightower, is also in Tokyo, competing in his third Paralympics as a T54 Wheelchair racer.
"To be able to travel together to the games is so awesome," she said.
How to Watch
- 100-meter prelim—August 30, 6:30 p.m. PST
- 100-meter final—August 31, 4:10 a.m. PST
- 400-meter prelim—September 1, 5:28 a.m. PST
- 400-meter final—September 3, 6:08 p.m. PST
CLICK HERE for NBC's coverage schedule.
Follow Her Journey
You can follow Crosby's journey via
her Instagram and
Facebook.
(You can also follow her guide dog, Tron, on Instagram @
tron_guidedog. Don't expect romps around Tokyo, though—Tron is relaxing at home with Crosby's parents during the games.)
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 31: Elena Chebanu of Team Azerbaijan, Adiaratou Iglesias Forneiro of Team Spain, Kym Crosby of Team United States and Lamiya Valiyeva of Team Azerbaijan compete in the Women's 100m - T13 final on day 7 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 31: Bronze medalist Kym Crosby of Team United States poses on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Women's 100m - T13 on day 7 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images)
