The first five days of competition at the World Para Athletics Championships have brought plenty of surprises. Alicia Guerrero and Nicole Lambert won their first Worlds medals, taking bronze in the discus (T64) and long jump (T63), respectively. Derek Loccident fell just shy of a medal in the javelin (T64); he’ll be going for a third consecutive Worlds medal tomorrow in his best event, the long jump. Most surprising of all, Ezra Frech (T63 ) settled for silver in the high jump, an event he dominated at the Paris Paralympics and the 2023 Worlds. That makes two years in a row that Ezra has missed the top of the Worlds podium.
But the biggest surprise of all may still lie ahead, when rookie sprinter Violet Hall pursues the podium in the 200m (T47). A few short months ago, Hall (who was born with a congenital upper-limb difference) had never entered a paratrack meet in her life. The 17-year-old Indiana high school senior has been running varsity track against able-bodied competition since her freshman year. She finally made her parasports debut in late May at the Desert Challenge Games, followed by the Move United Hartford Nationals in July. Hall’s performance there was strong enough to qualify her for the US Para Track Nationals in Eugene, where the unknown racer shocked everyone by beating five-time Paralympic medalist Brittni Mason in the 200 meters.
Hall completed the race in 25.47 seconds, the second-best time in the world so far in 2025. That mark would have earned her a bronze medal at last summer’s Paralympics, and it would have placed 4th in each of the last two World Championships. So Hall is a legitimate podium contender in her first-ever international meet.
We’ll find out how she fares on Sunday, the last day of the competition. You can get live results at this link. Amplitude connected with Hall a couple of weeks ago, before she flew over to Paris with her American teammates, to find out how she made her way to paratrack—and what took her so long. Our conversation is edited for clarity and length.
Parasports fans are just getting to know you, but Indiana sports fans have been watching you for a few years. What sports have you been competing in?
I just do track and basketball. I also do fall training with the cross-country team, but I don’t compete in cross-country.
And you’ve competed in big meets before you went to Nationals, correct? Statewide meets or regional meets?
Yes, our team went to state in my freshman year and again last year, my junior year. We finished third at state last year, and we didn’t lose anyone to graduation, so we’re in good shape for next season. We’re supposed to be pretty good.
When did you start enjoying track and recognizing that you’re good at it?
I started track in fourth grade, but it wasn’t until about last year that I made it my main focus. For the longest time, basketball was my main sport. I played on travel teams, and I was trying to get recruited for college to play basketball. But I’ve always loved track, because I love being outside. And the individual part of it is definitely good, because it involves a lot of competing against yourself. I tried a couple of new track events in my freshman year. I got put in the high jump for the first time, and I ended up going to state for that. Last year I started doing long jump, and I went to state for that, too.
I still love playing basketball, and I think being on a team helps with my overall athletic ability. It definitely correlates in a lot of aspects, probably more in the field events than the running events.
So you’ve been focused on varsity sports against nondisabled athletes. When did you become aware of parasports, and how did you get connected?
My sophomore year, the coach of our boys track team, Larry Williams, told me about it and said, “You should try this, I think you could be pretty good.” I kind of brushed it off. It really didn’t seem like something I was interested in. The next year he said the same thing, and Katie Wise, a coach from Marian University, said she could connect me with Anthony Bertoli, who is on the coaching staff with USA Track and Field. So I got his email, and he told me about a couple of meets that I could get out to. The first one was out in Arizona, so I went to that and my times were good enough to qualify me to go to the Harford Nationals.
Were you consciously thinking at that time about getting a spot on the national Paralympic team? Was that path clear to you at the time?
Not really. Making the national team seemed crazy out of reach to me. I didn’t think it would be this year; maybe someday it would happen, but not this year. But I remember my mom started looking at my times, and looking at the standards [for the T47 classification], and looking at the times for Brittni Mason. And my mom was like, “Your times are comparable. Your times are pretty close.”
I just don’t like to get my hopes up. I try not to get excited until the results are in. Even after I won my race in Eugene, and everyone told me I met the standard and I had an automatic spot on the team, I didn’t get my hopes up until they announced who made the team and I heard them call my name. It’s not that I was doubting myself. It just still seemed crazy that it could happen so fast.
Did Team USA actively recruit you? Or did you just sort of take the initiative?
Actually my mom did that part. I honestly didn’t even know I was going [to Nationals], but she signed me up and said, “We’re going to Oregon.” I didn’t actually realize how big the meet was. I just knew I was going to go run.
Two hundred meters seems like your best distance, by far. What is it about that race that plays to your strengths?
It’s definitely my main event. It has been my main event for a while now, probably since middle school. It’s just been my favorite. I think the longer distance helps because getting out of the blocks isn’t my strongest skill, and that’s really important in a shorter race. I’m working on that a lot in practice; it’s been a big focus. But in the 200, because I’m tall and my stride is a lot longer than other people, it takes me fewer steps to get around the track. I definitely use that to my advantage in that race. In the 100, I don’t have as much time to use that advantage to close out the race.
Was your time in Eugene a personal best?
Almost. I think I was .04 seconds off. It was really close to the best I can do.
And was your goal to win that race? You weren’t competing against high school kids, you’re up against a Paralympic medalist and a lot of other racers who are much older and more seasoned. Did you consciously think, “I can win this”?
It wasn’t really about winning for me. I was just focused on hitting the standard and qualifying for the team. I believe that was basically everyone’s goal, just trying to work toward the standard. I also just wanted to gain some experience, because I knew Brittni Mason obviously has a lot more experience than me.
Have the two of you gotten to know each other a little bit? Has she been a good resource for you?
She’s a role model for a lot of young racers. She’s definitely very serious in the tent, focusing in for her race, but outside of that she’s really fun to be around. Definitely a great personality, a great person to have a connection with.
So you won in Eugene, and you ran the second-fastest time in the 200m so far this year, anywhere in the world. Do you allow yourself to think about making the podium at Worlds?
I’m focused on gaining experience and doing my best, and the results will take care of themselves. That’s how I’m thinking about it. I’m not really focused on winning per se, or getting on the podium. It sounds weird, but I like to keep my expectations low. it’s not really about what I can do for myself, but what I can contribute to the team now and in the future.
Let’s talk about the future. The Paralympics will be held in three years on American soil. Before you got to Eugene, it doesn’t sound as if that was really on your radar. Is it on your radar now?
That’s definitely a big goal for me. Hopefully by then I’ll also be competing in college and maybe have access to better training facilities and different coaches. But that’s definitely a big goal for me. Whenever someone used to call me a future Paralympian, I’d kind of just laugh and say, “That’s funny.” But now I think that’s definitely possible for me, considering my age and how far I have still to grow in my career. I’m just getting started, and I’d like to continue.
