Para-athlete grabs major endorsement, takes long jump title at Hayward

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If you’re looking for the face of the movement to merge Paralympic track and field with Olympic track and field, look no further than Ezra Frech.

Adidas hasn’t.

The German-based athletic apparel giant signed the 20-year-old para athlete to a four-year contract, Frech announced Friday on his Instagram account.

Then he went out and did his thing for the first time ever at Hayward Field during the second day of the USA Track and Field Outdoor and Para National Championships.

“Let’s ‘Frech’ing go!” his family — mom Bahar Soomekh, dad Clayton Frech and brothers Gabe, 16, and Elijah, 13 — screamed more than once from Row H, Section 121, right in front of the long jump pits, as Ezra took first place in the T63 para classification in the long jump with a leap of 6.76 meters, or 21 feet, 2 ¼ inches.

“Everything he does is because he wants to normalize disability and change people’s perceptions of what’s possible,” said Soomekh, Ezra’s Iranian-born mother, who gave up her acting career in Los Angeles after starring in “Crash,” the 2004 crime drama that won the Academy Award for best picture in 2005.

The film was released in the United States just five days before Ezra was born, May 11, 2005.

Soomekh recalled going into contractions on the red carpet during a premiere for the film in Los Angeles, the Frech family’s hometown.

Ezra was born with a twisted left leg and missing fingers on his left hand, she said. The leg was amputated during a 15-hour surgery when he was almost 3.

Frech started as a motivational speaker when he was just 4 years old, three years after his family started Team Ezra, a nonprofit that provides financial resources to organizations that serve people with physical disabilities. 

In 2013, they founded Angel City Sports, which provides year-round access to sport training, equipment and competitive opportunities for athletes with disabilities.

Frech will compete in the high jump and 100 meters Saturday, Aug. 2, on the final day of national competition. The meet is also a qualifier for para athletes for Team USA at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, Sept. 26 through Oct. 5.

Frech, who won two gold medals in last summer’s Paralympic Games in Paris, will try to break his own T63 world record in the high jump of 1.97 meters, or 6 feet, 5 ½ inches, in front of NBC cameras. 

“I want to be able to turn on the TV in 20 years and see the Pat McAfee show, see ESPN, see NBC, see all these outlets talking about Paralympic sport, not even just track and field but Paralympic sport in general,” said Frech. The Olympian showed a premiere of the family’s new documentary, “Adaptive,” on the big screen Monday at Hayward, the same day it launched on Peacock.

“Think about how many Paralympic sports there are, think about how many championships, world cups, competitions, grand prixs, that go on all the time,” Frech said. “None of them are covered the same way their able-bodied counterparts are, and that’s the opportunity.” 

It’s why the outdoor and para championships are being held together for the first time this week at Hayward under USA Track and Field. 

“It’s absurd,” said Frech, explaining why it took so long to bring both disabled and non-disabled athletes together. The University of Southern California student competed on the Trojans’ track and field team this past spring as a freshman. 

“Hopefully, it will continue. I think this is the start of more integration.”

And he’s hopeful the Olympic Trials for track and field will be held for the sixth straight time in Eugene in 2028, but called the U.S. Olympic Track and Field and Paralympic Trials. 

Two weeks ago, the Frech family appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” to talk about “Adaptive” and all things Paralympic.

“We’re here and people are taking steps in the right direction to include Paralympics in high-level track and field, as it should be, and all we can do is say, ‘You know what, it should have happened before,” Frech said. 

“But I’m glad it’s here now, and let’s make sure these next few years to LA and beyond that we really amplify Paralympic track and field.”

Looking ahead

Day 3 of the USA Track and Field Outdoor and Para National Championships starts Saturday, Aug. 2, with the men’s and women’s 20K race/walk finals at 7 a.m., followed by the men’s 200-meter and women’s 400-meter open wheelchair finals at 9:15 a.m. and 9:25 a.m., respectively.

Saturday is the final day of competition for para athletes and Ezra Frech competes in the 100-meter final at 2:41 p.m. and the high jump final at 3:50 p.m. 

100-meter finals in various classifications run from 2:41 p.m. to the final race of the day at 5:25 p.m.

Big names to watch for Saturday include Rai Benjamin in the men’s 400-meter hurdle finals at 1:41 p.m., the women’s 1,500-meter final with Emily Mackay, Margot Hamilton and Nikki Hiltz at 2:03 p.m., the men’s 1,500-meter final with former Duck and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Cole Hocker battling the likes of Yared Nuguse and NCAA champion Nathan Green of Washington and Paralympian Hunter Woodhall running the T62 men’s 400-meter final at 2:33 p.m.

Also, current Duck Aaliyah McCormick runs in the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter hurdles along with Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell at 12:40 p.m. The final is at 2:25 p.m.

Sunday’s finals start with 200-meter master’s exhibitions at 11:30 a.m. and wrap with the men’s 110-meter hurdles at 2:54 p.m.

Watch for a sizzling men’s 800-meter final at 1:26 p.m. Brandon Miller, Donavan Brazier, Josh Hoey and Isaiah Harris all ran under 1:45 in Friday’s semifinal heats, while American record-holder Bryce Hoppel won his heat in 1:45.31.

Former Duck Raevyn Rogers qualified for the women’s 800 final at 1:18 p.m. Sunday.

Hocker also runs at 1:52 p.m. Sunday in the men’s 5,000-meter final against the likes of Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, 10,000-meter champion Nicolas Young and another former Duck, Cooper Teare.