Augusta’s Liz Willis aims for 400-meter medal in Paralympics

Liz Willis is eager to run against the best, confident in her medal chances and declined to take her family to Brazil because she considers the Paralympics a business trip.

Time on the track is no problem. Time away from the track in Rio de Janeiro worries her a bit. She must deal with a lot of down time in the athletes village, conserve energy and stay mentally sharp in those unusual conditions.

“We have to shower with our eyes closed and use water bottles to clean any open crevices,” she said. “They give us bottled water to brush our teeth. It’s that kind of stuff, maybe not having the same necessities we have in the United States. It’s adapting to that and staying calm for three weeks.”

Willis, who competes in the T44 classification for athletes who wear a prosthesis, will run the 100-, 200- and 400-meter sprints at the Paralympics this month in Rio. She had her left leg amputated below the knee in 2010 after undiagnosed Crohn’s disease, discovered after the birth of her son (Calum), caused a blood clot in her leg.

She enters the races ranked No. 7 in the world in the 400 (1 minute, 6.11 seconds), 10th in the 200 (28.81 seconds) and and 15th in the 100 (14.1). While she has run the 400 twice, she regards as it as her best race and her best chance to medal. In all races, she is playing catchup against the world’s best because of her relatively short time learning how to run as an amputee. Most, if not all, of her competitors, she said, are at least 10 years into their running careers.

“I’ve been an amputee for five years,” she said. “I’ve only been running professionally for two. This year, I’ve been trying to figure out what events I’m good at, which leg to use.”

Willis, 29, is strong in the 400 because of her background as a distance runner. Her combination of speed and endurance, however, needed to fit with new techniques learned after the amputation.

“I had no idea how to even sprint,” she said. “My big ordeal was hiring a sprint coach who knew how to run a proper cycle so I could become a sprinter.”

She found that coach around a year ago at the Andover YMCA with help from Wichita State women’s basketball coach Jody Adams-Birch. She learned that Willis needed a sprints coach and recommended Roy Birch, then her fiancee.

“She sat next to me on a mat and said, ‘So, who’s your coach?’ ” Willis said.

Birch, who is a USA Track and Field certified coach, and Willis got to work in February finding the right blade, learning how to use starting blocks and running with the new blade.

“You have to teach your brain exactly how high you want to lift your leg and set it down,” she said. “Some of my entire practices were literally standing on a railing in that position with one arm up and my amputee leg up and we would hold it for 30 seconds and strike to the ground.”

Birch had not worked with amputees previously. The training routine isn’t much different, he said. She’s improved in the 400 by learning how to pace herself early in the race instead of treating it like a shorter sprint.

“She’s been great to work with, because she’ll follow protocol,” Birch said. “At times, you get athletes who want to get in a hurry. They think they’re just going to run fast. It doesn’t work like that. She’s always learning.”

Willis, who works as a substitute teacher, hit personal bests in Paralympic qualifying and wants to do that again in Rio. She runs in the 400 prelims on Sept. 11, followed by the 200 prelims on Sept. 14 and the 100 prelims on Sept. 17. Birch will join her in Rio.

“She’s ready,” Birch said. “A good part of what we’re doing now is more technical and more mental, being smart with her race management.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Augusta’s Liz Willis aims for 400-meter medal in Paralympics."