Alexa Halko (born June 28, 2000) is a parasport

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

competing mainly in T34 classification sprint and middle-distance events. She competed at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio, where she won a bronze and two silver medals for her country, and followed this with a second bronze five years later at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Personal history

Halko was born in

Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

, USA in 2000. Presently residing in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

she attended Jamestown High School, graduating in 2018. Halko has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

Athletics career

Halko started out in parasports at the age of seven after being approached at a farmer's market by a member of the Greater Oklahoma Disabled Sports Association. She had never used a wheelchair prior but uses one to race. Classified as a T34 athlete, she entered her first senior competition in 2015, competing at a Grand Prix in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

. That same year Halko was chosen to represent the United States at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. She entered three events and won silver medals in two, the 100 metres and the 400 metres. In both she was beaten by Great Britain's

Hannah Cockroft Hannah Lucy Cockroft (born 30 July 1992) is a British wheelchair racer specialising in sprint distances in the T34 classification. She holds the world records for the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres ...

, the long-time dominant competitor in the women's T34 sprint events but with a time of 18.55 seconds in the 100 metres, Halko set a new North America record. The following year she qualified for the

in Rio, where at the age of 16 she was the youngest member of the American track and field team. In her first race, the 100 metres (T34) she edged out

Amy Siemons Amy Siemons (born 18 May 1985) is a Dutch wheelchair racer. Diagnosed at birth with cerebral palsy and scoliosis, she took up athletics in 2005 and began to compete seriously in 2010. Her disability classification is T34. At the 2012 Summer Par ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by one hundredth of a second to take the bronze medal. She took her second medal a few days later with a silver in the 400 metres (T34), splitting the British pairing of Cockroft (gold) and

Kare Adenegan Karé Adenegan (born 29 December 2000) is a British wheelchair athlete specialising in sprint distances in the T34 classification. She was classified as a disability athlete in 2013. Competing for Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Paraly ...

(bronze). Halko finished her first Paralympics with a second silver, finishing again behind Cockroft in the 800 metres (T34). The following year Halko travelled to London to compete in her second

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, winning bronze in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and silver in both the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

and

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halko, Alexa 2000 births People from Midwest City, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma County, Oklahoma American female sprinters Living people American disabled sportspeople Sportswomen with disabilities Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Track and field athletes from Oklahoma Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics 21st-century American women