Encinitas-Native Joel Gomez Competing At Paralympic Track Trials

MINNEAPOLIS, MN —Encinitas-native Joel Gomez flew to Minnesota on Monday, four days before the biggest race of his life.

On Friday at Breck School in Golden Valley, Minnesota, the 17-year-old Gomez will be running the 1500 at the U.S. Paralympic Trials as he attempts to earn a spot on the U.S. Track & Field Team for the Summer Paralympic Games, which will take place on August 24 through Sept. 25 in Tokyo.

"For the week (leading up to the trials), I don't really have any difficult workout plans, no hard training left" Gomez told Patch. "It's pretty much recover between now and Friday and pretty much stay relaxed and all that. I'll do some 250-meter strides on Wednesday."

Gomez was born with blue cone monochromacy, a rare genetic eye condition that has rendered him legally blind and color blind. He will be competing in the Paralympic T13 division, which is for athletes who are blind, but can distinguish shadows and forms.

In addition to the 1500 meters, Gomez, who attended Canyon Crest Academy for two years and recently graduated from Classical Academies, also will run the 5000 meters on Saturday. But Gomez said the 1500 is his big race. A time of 3:50 should be enough to make the team - his personal best is 3:55. He still could come up a bit short and qualify via a selection committee. The announcement of the team is expected next week.

Though the Paralympics in Tokyo would represent the pinnacle for Gomez, the teenager is no stranger to the big stage. He won the silver medal at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru, competed at that year's World Para Championships in Dubai and won golds in the 400 and 1500 at the World Para Athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland. Gomez was named the 2019 Male Junior Para Athlete of the Year by USA Track & Field.

Gomez also has competed for his high school against fully-sighted runners, finishing fifth in the 800 at the highly competitive Arcadia Invite in May.

"The Paralympics are the biggest meet I'd be going to, but all the meets I've gone to leading up to this have helped incredibly," Gomez said. "As my coach (and former Olympian) Joaquim Cruz says 'each race is a different beast,' and every race in the past gives you strength for future races."

Like everything, the Paralympics and U.S. Paralympic Trials were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, though Gomez said this was both a positive and negative. Both events were scheduled for last summer, but were postponed by a year, giving Gomez an extra 12 months to train and mature physically. Of course, the pandemic also meant 2020 was a year without competition.

"I've grown, become stronger and matured a bit. The year made a huge difference and was incredibly helpful. I probably wouldn't have made the team last year," Gomez said. "But with no races in 2020, it was tough and hard to stay motivated when it's just workout after workout, and it seemed endless. But endless workouts also make you stronger."

According to Cruz, the coach of the U.S. Paralympic Team and a gold medal-winner in the 800 at the 1984 Olympics, a year without competition was unlikely to affect Gomez, who seems to step up in the face of adversity.

"Joel doesn't think he has a disability," Cruz told The San Diego Union-Tribune in May. "He just tries to be Joel. He has a high pain tolerance and he likes to train. Like other athletes, I challenge him to be the best in the world."

Off the track, Gomez is a musician who plays four instruments, including the ukulele, on which he gives lessons. A fine student in school, Gomez is headed to Purdue in the fall to study industrial engineering. Gomez said his times on the track are comparable to runners in the Big Ten, and he has reached out to the Boilermakers' coach about being a part of the school's track program.

Gomez also won an $8,000 college scholarship from the Lighthouse Guild, a charitable organization devoted to advocating for those with vision impairments.

The first two weeks of college do coincide with the Paralympics, but Gomez said he's let his academic advisors know he might have an early conflict.

Regardless of how results go this weekend, Gomez said he's also planning to continue his competitive running career for several years.

"I'm planning to run as long as I can, and want to run at the highest level as long as I can," Gomez said. "I want to run a sub-4:00 mile. I believe that will happen in my college career, whether I'm running for Purdue or for coach Cruz."

Gomez said it's thrilling anytime he puts on the colors of Team USA.

"It's been an awesome experience and I'm excited for it to continue in Tokyo, in future Paralympics and Para World Championships," Gomez said. "(Competing for Team USA) never gets old and it's really awesome. If somebody told me three years ago that I would be doing this, I wouldn't have believed them. It's kind of surreal."