Marla

Runyan

Quick Facts

• Speciality: 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, women's long jump
• Marla Runyan is legally blind, suffering from Stargardt's Disease since age nine
• She is the only U.S. athlete in the Games to have become a Paralympian-turned-Olympian
• Overtime, Runyan transitioned from short-distance to middle-distance, to then long-distance running
• Inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame, Class of 2025

Biographical Information

Marla Runyan made history as the first visually impaired athlete to compete in the Olympic Games and remains the only U.S. athlete to have competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, she achieved remarkable success, winning gold in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races as well as the long jump, while also competing in cycling. She added a fifth gold medal at the Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996 with a victory in the pentathlon, along with a silver in the shot put.

In 2000, Runyan became the first blind athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, competing in the 1,500-meter event in Sydney. In Paralympic sport, Runyan held the women’s 400-meter world T13 record for an astounding 29 years, until it was broken in 2024. Over the course of her career, she earned six Paralympic medals—five of them gold—and claimed three national titles in outdoor track and field and three in road 5K events.

In 2001, she co-authored her autobiography, "No Finish Line: My Life as I See It," offering an inspiring account of her journey. Since 2013, she has continued to make an impact as a teacher and ambassador for the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Olympic/Paralympic Experience

• Two-time Olympian and two-time Paralympian; six-time Paralympic medalist
  • Olympic Games Athens 2004, 9th (5,000m - Women)
  • Olympic Games Sydney 2000, 8th (1,500m - Women)
  • Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996, gold (Women's Pentathlon P10-12), silver (Women's Shot Put - P12)
  • Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, gold (Women's 100m B3, Women's 200m B3, Women's 400m B3, Women's Long Jump B3), 5th (Mixed Road Tandem - Open)